The College of Communication will be reinstating its student council in an effort to increase college pride and student networking opportunities, beginning spring 2018. Leading the efforts are seniors Nichole Fernandez-Jurado and Sebastian Becerra, and sophomore Blake Ruppe.
The idea for a student council came about last year when Ruppe and Becerra, both MUSG College of Communication senators, were talking with Ben Dombrowski, Marquette Student Government president and senior in the College of Communication, about ways to unite the college.
“Other colleges have student councils, so we thought, ‘Why not?’” Becerra said. “We (want) to increase pride and have somewhere students could go and talk to about things and events.”
In preparation for next semester, the three have spent the past few months planning. They met with other newly-formed student councils to get advice, and they are hosting a forum Nov. 17 in Johnston Hall to gain insight from and peak the interest of other students in the college.
After both seniors graduate, Ruppe will oversee what the three created together. They have visited the classrooms of a few communication classes to catch the attention of underclassmen who will be important to the council’s establishment.
“We’ve already gotten a bunch of people interested in leadership and e-board,” Becerra said. “Younger students are looking for opportunities, and this would be a great way to get involved.”
The three said they feel that the benefits of having a student council are crucial to the success of students.
“The biggest thing is success rate for students post-grad. We want to focus on community outreach, community building and getting to know more people in the College of Communication past and present,” Ruppe said. “Student council can be that middle man to find opportunities, internships and make friends.”
To accomplish those goals, they plan on establishing a college logo, reminding students about upcoming networking events, bringing in speakers and hosting social events for students to get to know each other.
They also plan on collaborating with other student organizations from the College of Communication, such as Advertising Club and Public Relations Student Society of America.
“We want to start this and use it as a resource for students to come together and be creative in a supportive environment outside of class,” Fernandez-Jurado said.
Nothing for the student council is set in stone yet, but Fernandez-Jurado, Becerra and Ruppe have plans to meet every two weeks starting next semester. They have high hopes that the student council could be a helpful resource to communication students.
