Presidents serving on Ohio University’s student governing body have been involved in controversy, committed countless hours to Student Senate initiatives and lobbied for student rights.
Ohio University Student Senate presidents have challenged local authority, lobbied for student rights and honored their commitment to senate throughout the body’s history.
In past years, some Student Senate presidents have challenged authority, with one even declaring “war” on the City of Athens.
Tom Ramage, senate president during the 1999-2000 academic year, “formally declared war on the City of Athens” during a senate general body meeting. A towing company charged Ramage a $15 “show up fee” for parking in a space in front of his home, prompting his declaration, according to a previous Post article.
“I’m a student and a citizen of Athens, and I feel like I keep getting pushed around by city officials,” he said in the article.
Senate’s relationship with the City of Athens has improved in recent years, Student Senate President Gabby Bacha said.
“We had lunch with (Athens) City Council at the beginning of the year, we’ve kept in touch with them via email a little bit and we’re going to have a follow up meeting with them in coming weeks,” she said.
Other students have had run-ins with the law during their terms. Megan Marzec, president during the 2014-15 academic year, was charged with persistent disorderly conduct in January 2015 for involvement in a tuition hike protest near College Green.
Former senate president Nick Southall, who served as president in 2013, received a disorderly intoxication charge while in office. Southall later resigned in December of that year, according to a previous Post report.
Marzec caused campus-wide controversy when she poured a bucket of fake blood on her head in a video demonstrating concern for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Her actions prompted students, student groups, faculty and alumni to call for her resignation. Marzec said she received “overflowing” death threats, resulting in an investigation by local police and a call for civility from OU President Roderick McDavis.
“I have apologized for anyone that felt I was speaking for them,” she said in a previous Post interview. “But I will never apologize for standing with the oppressed people of Palestine.”
Some current senate members attribute these instances of presidential controversy to the heightened awareness that comes with holding a leadership role on OU’s campus.
“They can’t just walk away from that role when they walk out of the senate office on Friday,” said Kiera Fletcher, candidate for senate treasurer, said. “Everyone knows that they are the student body president all the time.”
Senate presidents weren’t always at odds with university and city leaders, however.
Former President Jim Hintz, who served two consecutive terms from 2000-2002, sat on several committees across campus and developed relationships with various administrators to lobby the interests of students, according to a previous Post report.
“If I am not in class or in the office, I am at a meeting,” Hintz said in the article. “Commitment is huge to me.”
Hintz made another huge commitment during his term — he became engaged to the academic affairs commissioner and his girlfriend of nearly seven years, Heather Martin.
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Bacha said she knows several senate couples who dated while serving on the body, adding that there are a few couples in senate this year.
“I was talking to a senate alum who was telling me their story. His wife had a crush on him so she joined student senate because he just got elected president,” Hannah Clouser, candidate for senate president, said. “Now they’re married.”
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