Monday, February 18, 2008
Ray Wittlinger’s first attempt at Student Senate didn’t go so well.
Wittlinger, Olathe senior, ran for a freshman seat in 2004, but did not get enough votes to secure that election. Later that year, he was asked by a fellow fraternity member if he would like to give Senate another shot, this time, for an open Interfraternity Council seat.
Courtesy of Ray Wittlinger
Ray Wittlinger, Olathe senior, is the student body Vice President.
“I thought, ‘Why not? That sounds pretty fun,’” Wittlinger said.
Today, Wittlinger serves as the student body vice-president. Once he got into Student Senate, he said, he fell in love with public service and working with other students.
“I’ve always thought Student Senate was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Wittlinger said. “It’s the kind of experience that’s rare to have at this age, and it’s fun because of how many students I get to interact with.”
Wittlinger got his political start representing the Interfraternity Council and has remained a supporter of the Greek community’s interests. He supported last week’s passed bill that allows membership-only student groups, such as fraternities, to advertise with Student Senate funds. Wittlinger said the Greek community was far from his only cause.
“Each senator finds a cause early on,” he said. “You see how much potential one issue has to make a change for the better. I found that in campus safety. So often, people think of campus safety as a cause for just women. I’ve always loved to be involved with campus safety because I knew I could make an impact early on in my term.”
Wittlinger passed legislation during the summer that reformed the structure of the Campus Safety Advisory Board, which oversees the spending of the $2 campus safety fee paid by each student and the overall safety conditions on campus.
Student body president Hannah Love’s joint platform has focused on academic policies and their effects on students.
“We’ve really taken on the challenge of making academic policies better for students,” Wittlinger said.
This includes the implementation of an academic “deadweek” proceeding finals week, a proposal that has not yet come to fruition.
Wittlinger, a political science major, can graduate in May, but is considering staying at the University for another year to take some more classes and continue to work with Senate. He said his greatest frustration with Student Senate was the time crunch of a one-academic year-long term.
“We have from May 1 to May 1 to accomplish our goals, and, often, that’s just not enough time,” he said.
Whether he stays enrolled at the University or moves on, Wittlinger said public service will continue to be in his future.
“I’m one of those people that can’t sit around. I can’t sit back and relax. I need to be working with students, writing legislation, getting things done,” he said. “I always feel like I could be doing more.”
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