With 457 votes received, Ryan Fox of Lake Orion and Brittany Kleinschmidt of Oxford are the new president and vice president of the Oakland University Student Congress.
“The OUSC has been my passion for the last few years,” Fox said on March 29 shortly after the winners of the election were announced. “I enjoy serving people and making the world a better place for them; I feel like it’s what I’m meant to do. So when this opportunity arose, I thought long and hard about it, and after consulting with family and friends, I decided to go for it.”
Fox will serve as president of the OUSC, while Kleinschmidt will serve as vice president.
“We know there’s a lot to love about Oakland University, but there’s also a lot we think we can improve upon,” Kleinschmidt said. “I think that’s what will make us good student leaders.”
According to Fox, the duo plan to work with the new student legislature — Austin Church, Tyler Fox, Stephanie Hubbard, Sylvia Washat, Tyler Parsons, Joseph Petrick, Elijah Sanders, Richard Seeger, Mina Wassaf, Hunter Willis and Ronald Yousif — to address several issues on campus.
“We’ll be working on reforming the financial aid department to make it more student-friendly,” he said. “We’ll also be making sure that student input is taken more seriously with regard to food selection on campus, that the elevators are maintained and that the handicap-accessible doors are working and functional all the time.”
Fox said the OUSC also plans to serve as a voice for student employees.
“We want them to know who to go to if they’re being mistreated in the workplace in some way, whether that means sexual harassment or something else,” he said. “We also want to stand up for grad students, so they aren’t being mistreated in any way. We want to help increase their stipends, while also fighting for a minimum wage increase across the campus.”
The pair also said they would encourage other OU students to get involved by seeking elective office, or joining another student organization on campus.
“Don’t worry about what other people will think,” Kleinschmidt said. “If you have a passion and you can show it and you’re a genuine person, I think that’s the key. If you want to get involved on campus, just find things you’re interested in and then go for it.”
Fox agreed.
“Some of the best things that have happened to me in my life happened because I just went for it,” he said. “It’s important to find something you’re passionate about, because if you’re putting a lot of work in and you don’t like it, you’re not going to enjoy it. Find something you want, and go for it. After all, half the battle of winning an election is just putting your name on the ballot.”
To learn more about the Oakland University Student Congress, visit oakland.edu/ousc.