Ohio University Student Senate President Dan Gordillo had an unprecedented path to his presidency. Now, in his first academic year in the role, he’s hoping to make some changes within the Senate to better serve OU students.
According to a previous report by The Post, Gordillo originally ran for the Senate executive board on the Unity ticket. The ticket consisted of Reagan Farmer as president, Gordillo as vice president and Johnny Susany as treasurer.
Each candidate from the ticket received more votes than the others represented on the ballot, and the ticket as a whole solicited more total votes — 2,281 to be exact — than in the last eight election cycles.
According to Gordillo, the future of his public service depended on the Unity campaign's success.
“I had done two years in Senate, and I had also done a three-year class presidency back in high school,” Gordillo said. “Student Government was very close to me, and I knew that if I lost this election, there was a very slim chance of me coming back.”
Gordillo said he felt like a little kid when he found out his ticket had won.
“The bout of excitement literally made me shake,” Gordillo said. “I had this huge burst of energy. I ran around Baker.”
However, Gordillo’s excitement was quickly tempered by news that the Unity President-Elect Reagan Famer was to be impeached. According to Gordillo, the decision to remove Farmer created confusion among the body as to who would succeed her.
“It was decided that, per former graduate assistant Divina Cooley and Dean of Students Kathy Fahl, who would receive advice from Ohio University's legal team, to give the presidency to the vice president elect, which was myself,” Gordillo said.
Once Gordillo was sworn in, a special election was held for the vice president position, which was ultimately won by the College of Arts and Sciences Senator Kiandra Martin.
After the special election, Gordillo ordered everyone to take a break to recharge before the school year began. The break allowed the new executive board time to refocus its platform.
According to Gordillo, the team’s policy platform mostly follows the original Unity ticket; however, it puts more emphasis on transparency and accessibility.
“I can't just pass a resolution and say, ‘Let's be more transparent,'” Gordillo said. “We need a behavioral change, and that is something which all the executives agree on so that we never let Senate go back to the way it once was.”
Gordillo plans to implement more informative newsletters, frequent fireside chats with representatives and an anonymous form for students to fill out with complaints and suggestions for the organization. He hopes these types of programming will increase public participation in Senate and influence its perception of the organization.
“If I want people to think that Senate is professional, I should act like a professional,” Gordillo said. “Senate does a lot of good things, people just don't hear about it, which always leads to the misconception that Senate is like a really good mock government because we don't do anything just like the real government.”
With the school year underway, Gordillo hopes Senate can use smaller victories, like increasing access to representatives, to hold its current approval position. He also hopes to use bigger victories, like increased funding for student organizations like the International Student Union, to improve its reputation with OU students.
Along with its external improvements, Gordillo hopes to foster a positive culture inside of Student Senate. He said this means supporting senators and commissioners to keep them engaged and encouraged.
“I could be a president, but I can't get anything done without them,” Gordillo said. “I have a ton of experience in this organization. I want to share that knowledge, share that experience, so that way we can benefit the entire student body.”
Ultimately, Gordillo hopes his presidency will shape a better future for Senate and OU students.
“I remember being a timid freshman who was a little bit scared of everybody's office, and I want to make sure that everybody who walks through these doors, whether they're a first timer or they're a veteran, that they know we can get good stuff accomplished here,” Gordillo said. “I want to make this place better, and I think that's half the battle.”
