1300 students showed their support by voting for who they believed would lead the Student Senate in the right direction. After weeks of campaigning – communicating with the student body, releasing platforms and statements – and participating in heated debates, the student body has chosen whom they want to lead the Student Senate, surpassing last year’s voter turnout by 300 votes along the way.
Mark Neubauer, a third year Biomedical Engineering student, will be passed the reigns of the Student Senate from former president, Michael Bebawy. Mark has been an active member in Senate since freshman year as Freshman Resident Rep., Resident Rep, and Vice President of Student Affairs.
Despite having more experience with Senate than his opponents, Mark stayed on his toes and did not take them lightly. “I was against two amazing candidates and the debate made me realize that they meant it. Their campaigning made me step my game up,” is what he had to say about his fellow candidates, Renee Collins and Johny Yaccoub.
Mark has a lot planned for his first semester as Senate President, with a large focus on being transparent and accountable. By changing the location of the Senate office from the 4th floor of the Campus Center to where the bookstore currently resides, Mark believes that it will make Senate more visible and approachable for students with questions.
While he admits that Senate’s PR has not been as good as it could have been, Mark has been striving to improve that aspect as V.P. of Student Affairs. Senate has recently hosted multiple Public Office Hours events, where students are asking to provide their own input to provide feedback used to improve the school. This corresponds with another one of Mark’s goals, “to improve outreach and have Senators communicating with students and clubs”.
Also serving in the Student-At-Large faction of Senate – in which students may freely join to give their support to Senate without the full commitment usually required – Mark made it a point to connect with as many of the clubs on campus. “Student-At-Large is for students who didn’t win, but still want to be involved”
He also plans to continue drafting proposals for the Student Activities Fund Review Board (SAFRB) for one time improvements to be made on campus. He spoke of improving the Pub, Campus Center lobby, Library, and the outdoor appearance of the campus. Seeing all of the construction happening on campus, Mark firmly believes that NJIT can live up to its full potential.
Mark plans on meeting with all of NJIT’s club presidents to best prepare for the upcoming Fall semester.
