The mayhem and chaos that happened in Kenneth Brown Jr.’s home state of North Carolina last week left him feeling frustrated, scared and confused.

SGA Class of 2019 president has been outspoken on issues involving race relations and police brutality in the past.
But the protests in Charlotte over the controversial shooting of Keith Lamont Scott by a police officer rattled Brown and prompted him to act.

Localizing a solution

Brown read an emotional poem at a recent SGA meeting, saying Elon has the power to create a welcoming environment on campus — one where minority students don’t have to wonder if the violence in the headlines will creep into their community.
His poem caused the SGA senate chambers to erupt in applause and motivated many of his peers to take action.
“These issues have been in the news for so long now that people are becoming numb to it in a sense,” said senior Kyle Porro, SGA executive president. “Having Kenneth speaking so genuinely from the heart made it very real for everyone in this room and made it known that this is something that affecting people’s lives.”

Many of the people in the room look far different from Brown. African-American and other minority SGA officers are outnumbered compared to white ones. Jana Lynn Patterson, SGA faculty adviser and dean of Student Health and Wellness, said that is understandable because, “the diversity of the senate reflects the diversity of the student body.”

But this is the second consecutive year the freshman class elected an African-American president. When Class of 2020 President Livi Murray was elected three weeks ago, she said one of her goals was to, “represent the minority population.” And with the continued diversification of the senate, SGA is working for policies, legislation and community activism to embody and champion more marginalized groups on campus.

“Even though some people may think SGA doesn’t represent them, I hope they see that we are trying to do our best, because this is the only senate that we have,” said Morgan Bodenarain, Class of 2018 vice president. “And now I feel like it’s ‘grind time’ — we have to be representing our constituents. The best way to face this issue is with love, and I feel like that is going to come from unifying our campus and respecting each other’s differences.”

Representing everyone

Along with Class of 2018 Senator Carlos Andino, Bodenarain created the Student Inclusive Community Committee, a student-run group that pairs student organization leaders with SGA officers to discuss issues that may lead to potential legislation. Andino said he and Bodenarian spawned this idea after a spirited SGA meeting last spring. During that meeting, senior Chris Tarpley, Colleges of Arts and Sciences senator, boldly addressed the lack of inclusivity on campus and implied they were hypocrites for not being visible in the community. 

Highlights from the unexpected SGA race debate in spring 2016


Andino said another goal of the committee’s is to act upon the 42 recommendations provided by the Presidential Task Force on Social Climate and Out of Class Engagement and make them practical to students. Andino said he was proud of Brown for speaking his mind, but it was unfortunate that the whole campus couldn’t hear him or wouldn’t be able to relate to him. He also said the process of diversifying SGA — in officers and their policies— would be a slow one, but one that was greatly
needed.

“We do the best with what we have, and I feel like this is something the student body has been wanting for a really long time,” Andino said. “Anything we can do, we would love to get students input going forward.”

One of Tarpley’s main grievances with his SGA peers last spring was that he was the only one among them to hear George Yancy, Emory University professor of philosophy, speak at Elon’s campus — a lecture that delved into racism in the United States.
After SGA’s internal debate, Porro and SGA’s executive staff have pushed for more visibility at community events. Many SGA members marched in solidarity with the Black Student Union this past Friday and plan to show support for suicide awareness week. 

Patterson said she is proud of this semester’s SGA senate and is excited to see the things they accomplish.
“I think this is one of the strongest senates we’ve had in a long time,” Patterson said. “They think at a high level, they’re thinking about important things and they’re willing to be engaged around difficult subjects. I think they reflect diversity of thought, and when it comes to tough things, they’re willing to come together.”