Student Senate Visions for LCU

Randal Dement: Good morning.
As we sit here on this Thursday with Good Friday tomorrow, let's start with a prayer.
Father, we're thankful for this time.
We're thankful to be here.
We're thankful for laughter.
And Father, as we approach Easter weekend, as tomorrow we think of the cross, Father,
And may we remember that we look at it through the lens of an empty tomb.
Father, I pray blessings on this community.
That during the time in this weekend that is time spent with others.
And time spent reflecting on the greatest point forwards or backwards that history has ever known.
It's in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior, that I pray. Amen.
Good morning. My name is Randal Dement.
and I serve as vice president of student life.
It's my pleasure.
And one of my roles is to serve as an advisor
along with Abrianna Fernandez to student Senate.
This morning is an important day for student Senate,
but it's an important day for this student body
as you elect the executive officers for next year.
I wanna take a moment for maybe what you don't know.
Student Senate is made up of anywhere from 35 to 55 members
And their role is to enhance the student experience,
support organizations, and represent the voice of students.
These are servant leader roles
that often takes place behind the scenes.
This morning, each candidate will speak to two prompts.
What is your vision to support the student experience
through Student Senate?
And how will your skills support that vision?
So please give them attention,
'cause as you can imagine,
presenting this stuff in front of your peers
takes lots of courage.
So now, please help me welcome your current and future student body president, Matthew Duvall.
Matthew Duval: Good morning, everybody.
Well, like Randal said, he gave us a little primer into what student senate is.
I would like for us to read aloud our mission statement.
This is something we do every Monday night meeting, and typically I have our senators stand up
and try and say it as ridiculously as possible to make me laugh.
But today, I want to read it as just kind of a way to clear the air
over what Senate actually does.
So it goes like this.
The Student Senate of Lubbock Christian University
provides leadership and representation within and beyond LCU,
improving the LCU family and community
and ensuring opportunities for personal and professional growth
to prepare students for life after college.
Now, I know that was a lot.
Admittedly, I still don't have it memorized
after all these Mondays saying it over and over.
But to summarize it just into two words,
our job is to listen.
It's to listen to you, the student body.
It's to have our ears to the ground
and our finger on the pulse
on what the student body wants and needs
and to represent that accordingly.
So a couple ways we do that.
Number one, we throw our own events,
such as twerp week, comfy cozy worship night,
and other events throughout the year.
We help out with several athletic events,
such as distributing the pom-poms
before the cheer show off recently.
but we also support other student organizations through a portion of our budget that's designed
to donate. Recently we have provided money to the men's volleyball club to help them get off their
feet, to the pre-health club to provide for the suture clinic, and we're funding a really awesome
event coming up at the end of this month. So just as we listen to the speeches given by our
candidates today be thinking about who represents me the best and who listens
the best thank you all so much next we're gonna have Brooklyn come up and
then we will have Colton and cutter and then we will have Doak and Taden so
thank you so much
Brooklyn: good morning everybody I just want to say I'm very blessed to be up here to
represent you as your student body treasurer for 2025 or 2026 through
2027. Just a few things about me. I'm a sophomore agribusiness major with a minor in the family
ministry and I'm from Ruidoso and just a few things I'm involved in around here is I'm a
member of Chrisliche Damen, Ag Club as well as I've been in student senate for a year and I attend
the Greenlawn campus college ministry. So just a few things. My vision to create a student
experience where every student feels heard, supported, and genuinely connected to LCU,
to the LCU community, is really just what my vision is as this, as having this position.
I want the Student Senate to be a bridge between students and leadership between students,
making sure student voices are not only listened to, but acted on.
I also hope to create an environment that is fun, welcoming, and encouraging.
That is another vision of mine.
I also want students to feel like they belong and know that they have people here for them through Student Senate.
So, yes, I'm very, very blessed to have this position, and I hope to represent everybody here very, very well.
Thank you very much.
Oh, and now, Tayden Warren.
Cutter Dent: Good morning everyone. It is an honor to stand before you today on the stage. The last time
that I was up here was this time a year ago when they were announcing us as the new execs.
A lot has changed during that time, but through it all, it has been my honor and privilege
to serve as your student body secretary for the year and also as your interim vice president
for this past semester. If you do not know me yet, my name is Cutter Dent and I'm a sophomore
agribusiness major. I'd like to start off by just telling you a few ways in which I'm involved on
campus. I've been a member of the Student Senate here at LCU since the beginning of my freshman
year when I joined the Campus Experience Committee. I'm a member and officer of the
Koinonia Social Club, a part of the AG Club, I have been an orientation leader, and have
volunteered for EncounterLE. I give tours and help out with LCU visit days through Student Alliance,
Amazade Gamma Bo, and am involved in the college ministry of the Green Lawn Church of Christ.
I would like to share now a glimpse of my vision with you. One of my main goals
for this past year was to grow our membership, not just in numbers but in
representation. We started the year with 15 returning Senators and this fall had
grown that number to about 50 members split up across three different
committees. This growth has allowed us to better represent you throughout our
campus. With that, I would like to keep this energy going and most importantly
be members on mission together on and off of this campus. I aspire to carry
this attitude into this next year if voted in the office. I believe that this
directly aligns with our mission to provide leadership and representation.
Through being able to serve as secretary I have been taught better ways in how to
be organized and consistent in communication, how to be adaptive in
unexpected situations, and someone who values structure. Stepping into the
vice president role and its responsibilities at this semester also
showed me many valuable things like how to lead through change, support others,
and step up when it is needed. Through both of these positions I have held, I
have learned that leadership in these roles is about showing up, being
dependable, and serving to the best of your abilities. And just as I concluded
each email that I sent this year's secretary, I would like to leave you with
this: Colossians 3 verse 23: "Whatever you do, work out work at it with all your
heart as working for the Lord and not for human masters. And with this being said, I hope that
you will cut to the chase and vote me, Cutter Dent, as your 2026-2027 student body vice president.
Thank you.
Colton Coates: Hello everybody, my name is Colton Coates. Thank you. I do apologize for this very large pimple
on my right. I guess Satan was trying to stop me from doing this today, but here at LCU, we do not
listen to Satan. Good morning, students and faculty at LCU. My name is Colton Coates, and I am running
for Student Senate Vice President. Now, I love the Senate with all my heart, and I believe it is a
great organization that I've been a part of, and I've been honored to serve for these past two years.
That being said, I believe that Senate can be even better than it is. You see, there is a saying I
heard in the Senate a few times in the last couple of semesters first come
first serve but I do not believe that this saying is right the Senate should
focus on helping all students in all student groups that is part that is part
of our oath that you just recently heard after all I want to balance the Senate's
budget which I mean I want to make sure that we have the money to give to all
student groups and all students regardless of if they come to us first
or last. This is my vision for every student for every student group to be
given the same opportunity in the same fair treatment as any other student
group and I don't want any students to be left behind and I also want our
leaders including myself to be held accountable to what we do so that y'all
know what we are doing in Senate. Now you might ask how can I be vice president
what are my skills? Well, I may not be the loudest person in the room, and I think everybody here
knows that, but what I am is a very stubborn man who will never give up even when I fail the first
time. I am also analytical, which means I use logical reasoning and a structured approach
in everything that I do. I am also a fair and just person who will be fair and just to any
student group or any student who comes to us for aid, regardless of if I have friends in this group
or not. Thank you for listening to me and if you have any questions after chapel I
would love to speak to you and yeah thank you for being here and please go
out and make your voices heard. Thank you.
Doak Sexton: Good morning I'm Doak Sexton I'm a freshman law studies major here at LCU
and I'm a proud member of Alpha Chi Delta and I'm running to be your student
Senate secretary I do not want to say that three times fast that's a tongue
twister my vision is for supporting the student experience through students in
it is crystal clear I will work to ensure that Senate is a bridge between
all students within the LCU community this vision will be made into reality
through three key areas of action first I'll uphold organization and structure
as a secretary of the student Senate to allow for efficiency in our actions as
as the executive team and throughout all senators.
Second, I'll communicate clearly with fellow executives,
senators, students, faculty, and staff
to cultivate successful events on our campus.
Third, I will aim to grow Student Senate, increasing the number of senators
and better representing all students here at Lubbock Christian University.
My skills of structure, awareness,
and an open mindset will be vital as I maintain
my vision while also being able to compromise with others for the greater good of LCU.
President John F. Kennedy said, ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do
for your country. And as I considered running for secretary, I thought about this deeply,
and I decided that I could not pass up the opportunity to do something for LCU through
service service to my fellow students and service to make LCU even better
thank you for your time and consideration go chaps and also vote
dope it ain't no joke
Tayden Warren: okay first thing I want to address is why am I not dressed up that is because
I want to represent the best department here on LCU campus and that is the Bible
department. Second, for those of you that don't know me, my name is Tayden Warren, and I am a
sophomore biblical text major, and I am running for student senate secretary. I am also a proud
member of Quattanea, the club Quattanea, but why do I want to be secretary? What is my vision for
that? My vision is because I want to be a support. I want to be a bridge. I want to give ideas to
the student senate body and make student senate strong and it starts right here with you guys
student senate is what we are because not without you we need you to be student senate and that's
something that i want to provide i want to be a bridge i want to be someone that can take your
ideas your words and your encouragement and i want to bring that to student senate to help make
lcu a better place i want everyone uh new old uh current whoever i want to make sure that everyone
is welcomed heard um and accepted here at lcu and i want to help strengthen the body of christ
here at lcu and make a stronger community um but thank you um that's my time
Randal Dement: let's give them all one more round of applause
So it is 11:15 right now.
At 11:30, you will receive an email with a link.
It will take you 30 seconds vote.
There'll be some posters with some scan codes
if you'd rather do it that way.
Link will be open for 24 hours.
So please vote.
Get them!