On March 3, The Maine Campus interviewed University of Maine Student Government Member Cynthia Shelmerdine, who recently announced her candidacy for student body vice president. In anticipation of student voting ending this week on March 7, Shelmerdine shared more about herself and why she chose to run for vice president of UMSG.
Shelmerdine is a second-year biomedical engineering student and serves as a representative of military and veteran student affairs, student security, the presidential space committee and services chair. In the current UMSG election, she is running uncontested for vice president. Cynthia has become an active member of the UMSG community and shared that she is eager to take on a bigger leadership role and work closer with students in this new year.
“As vice president, I would be able to make a tangible impact. I was inspired to run for vice president from the work that Keegan Tripp has done. He has changed what it means to be a student leader,” said Shelmerdine. I aspire to make as much change as he has done.”
Cynthia is willing to prioritize the needs of students and emphasized the importance of inclusivity on campus.
“One of my main goals is to put in more funding requests for student-led initiatives. For example, something that is a big issue is accessibility. It is important to make sure that the school is in compliance with American with Disabilities Act regulations so that there is accessibility to buildings on campus for those who are mobility impaired can get in. I am meeting with inclusive access later this week to talk about how we can include better accessibility in the Administration and for the rest of the year,” said Shelmerdine.
As the incoming vice president of this new administration, Shelmerdine explained that she is committed to raising the voice of students so that they are able to express their opinions. For example, Shelmerdine is working on creating spaces outside of the student senate to allow students to advocate for their needs.
“Keegan and I are hoping to hold a town hall series with students. This is something that we already do with the different deans and we are now planning on doing it with students. During election week, we typically hold a debate night between candidates,” said Shelmerdine. “But since we are running uncontested, we are planning on holding a session where students can come and ask questions about what they want to see out of this Administration.”
Shelmerdine also emphasized that the Student Activity Fee (SAF) would be the first thing that this new administration would concentrate on. She said the fee would be raised at the average level of other universities.
“I am of the opinion that we should vote yes on the SAF. It will allow UMSG to help the budget. There is an ongoing problem that student organizations do not have enough money to hold events and one of my goals is to be able to have funding for them. An increase in money for the SAF would allow us to give it back to increase and improve student experience. We want to widen the scope of entertainment for students on campus,” said Shelmerdine. “If it does not increase that would mean increasing fees for clubs which would mean more out of students’ pockets.”
When asked about the biggest challenges facing UMaine students right now, Shelmerdine responded by saying that “there seems to be a gap between students and administration interactions, which can lead to frustration.”
To solve this issue, she has taken the first step to bridge the gap between student and administrative interactions specifically in regards to research opportunities for students across campus.
“I want to make research on campus more inclusive. For biomedical engineering, it is difficult because you have to be in the know to get a job. All research labs across majors and colleges need to be more transparent and open about their hiring process and ability of jobs to set up students for success for their degree path,” said Shelmerdine.
Shelmerdine has already started doing this with Giovanna Guidoboni, Dean of the Engineering college.
“I helped her set up an advisory council. I hope to extend this opportunity to other deans to better include students in conversation about research opportunities. Dean Giovanna was able to hear the voices of students. I hope other deans take this as an example to realize the need to listen to their students,” said Shelmerdine.
Voting ends this Friday, March 7. The ballots will be unsealed and announced March 10. Shelmerdine urges students to get out and vote during this election week.
“Students have the ability to make an impact on campus whether they are involved or not, and it is an opportunity to voice their concerns for the future of the university and UMSG,” said Shelmerdine.
