c/o Wesleyan Student Assembly

Justin Ratkovic ’20 and Ayana Dudley ’20 were elected as Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) 2019-2020 president and vice president, respectively, on Saturday, April 27, after running unopposed.

This election saw an 11.67 percent voter turnout of the undergraduate student body. Out of the 350 students who voted, 82.86 percent voted for Ratkovic, with the remainder of the votes going to various write-in candidates, and 88.29 percent voted for Dudley, with 11.71 percent voting for vice president write-in candidates.

Dudley and Ratkovic both look forward to heading the WSA together and continuing to collaborate on their shared projects.

“I have been working with Justin on the Student Life Committee of the WSA, so we have been able to develop effective and efficient methods of working on projects together,” Dudley wrote in an email to The Argus. “I am looking forward to continuing combining our different methods of working.”

“Ayana is one of my really good friends and we’ve worked together on various projects,” Ratkovic wrote in an email. “She was a member of my committee this semester and she is very passionate about a number of issues on campus. Recently, we’ve been working together, with a lot of other students, to bring free and sustainable menstrual products to campus.”

Dudley emphasized increasing transparency as one of her main goals as vice president for the upcoming academic year.

“As VP, one of my main focuses will be maintaining transparency of the WSA,” Dudley wrote. “I think it is really important for students who are not on the WSA to be actively informed of and kept up-to-date on all the projects the Senators are working on, as well as the Resolutions that are being passed.”

Looking forward, Ratkovic emphasized his intentions to facilitate further collaborations between the WSA and the Resource Center.

“I actually work at the Resource Center as one of the Gender and Sexuality Interns, and so I think there’s going to be a lot of big changes coming from the WSA office and the Resource Center,” Ratkovic wrote. “We’re going to have to collaborate a lot more, and trying to figure that out is going to be one of the biggest parts of next year’s presidency.”

As voting for the 2019-2020 WSA senators just opened, Dudley spoke about her excitement for working with the new WSA General Assembly (GA).

“I am looking forward to working with the new and returning GA members next year,” Dudley noted. “I think it’s always exciting to welcome new members because everyone is really passionate about different things, and everyone brings great new perspectives and ideas to GA.”

Dudley and Ratkovic will begin their new positions next week, and Ratkovic looks forward to serving the University community at large.

“I can’t wait to take up the presidency next week,” Ratkovic wrote. “I hope that all members of the Wesleyan community feel like they can reach out to myself and other senators, as we’re in a unique position to create institutional change. We want to accurately represent student voices and concerns to the administration.”

Jocelyn Maeyama can be reached at jmaeyama@wesleyan.edu.