Photo courtesy of Ella Scott.

Junior Ella Scott was elected Speaker of Student Union (SU) Senate after an internal election on Tuesday, Sept. 3, in which she ran against senior Braeden Rose. Scott’s election comes after the role has been vacant since April 20, when senior Lauren Fulgum stepped down due to family health reasons. In light of the vacancy, Senate leadership struggled to discuss goals and plans for the semester over the summer, as all SU Council Executive Committee meetings took place without a speaker.

Scott is entering her second year as a member of Senate, having served her first year on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) committee. Scott said her motivation for initially running for Senate came from her experience being a low-income student with a rural background. 

“I found a lot of inaccessibilities at WashU in that experience,” Scott said. “The institution can provide resources, but institutionally, it’s really difficult to find people who can really empathize or resemble your experience, so it’s really important for me to continue SU being someone in that space who has experienced what I have experienced and can speak very, very honestly about the WashU experience for people of a low income background or people with who are on significant financial aid.”

Scott has already set her sights on projects around disability justice, the development of a constitutional task force, and working with WashU Votes to make Election Day a university holiday. Her work in Senate is also driven by her perspective on the protests that took place on campus last year and the university’s current political climate. 

“After being in the DEI committee for a year, I found myself having some more high level ideas and things that we could change related to the Constitution or the SU statutes and the Senate statutes,” Scott said. “Especially after the last semester and all that went on last year, I found myself empathizing with everybody on a different level.”

In a written statement provided to StudLife, SU President Hussein Amuri wrote that Vice President of Engagement, Ashton Lee, served as acting speaker over the summer, and Scott stepped up to help with the Improve WashU initiative.

“He couldn’t do it all by himself, and we needed someone in the Senate to step up given the fact that the most important project that was on Senate agenda for the summer was the Improve WashU Survey that is now out. That person was Ella, and she did a fantastic job,” Amuri wrote. “From an internal operational perspective, Senate is playing catch up as they’ve only had a Speaker for like a week, and they still need to define what their priorities are going to be this semester. However, that game of catch-up would probably be way longer than it is going to be if Ella didn’t step up, so super proud and thankful to her. She’s going to be an amazing Speaker.”

Lee, who worked with Scott on projects focusing on first-generation low-income students, subsidized parking passes, and improved relationships with student organizations, emphasized her care. Lee said her innate ability to connect with a variety of different people and groups spanning many identities will serve her well as Speaker.

“She’s dedicated. When she puts her mind to something, she works hard and fights for the best solution. She’s also pragmatic in her approach to solving difficult issues on campus that may affect each student differently,” Lee said. “She’s compassionate towards others, especially for historically marginalized groups, which is a trait we need more of in our leaders.”

Vice President of Finance for SU, Meris Damjanovic, who worked closely with Scott on the Improve WashU initiative, as well as general budget matters, also cited her dedication. 

“She’s been Speaker for almost a week, and she’s had me look over some of the things that she is working on, so she’s hitting the ground running. She’s very dedicated to Senate and to making sure that work is done,” Damjanovic said.

In addition to this, Damjanovic said Scott’s ability to connect with and consider all parties affected by policies will allow her to be both efficient and effective. 

“She has demonstrated a willingness to do the job and do it with passion and compassion for students, for administrators, and for everyone involved in that process. She is someone that I imagine can build a lot of bridges and do a lot of productive work,” Damjanovic said.

Despite the stresses of the upcoming presidential election and international conflict, the ripples of which are felt on campus, Scott said she is keeping her goals in focus. She said it’s important for students to see themselves reflected in student government, which helps serve as a bridge between the student body and institutional powers. 

“A lot of the time, student governments are pretty homogenous, and I think it’s really important to have a diverse group of people actively working to represent students,” Scott said. “I think it’s really important for students to know that there are people who have experienced things like them and who look like them or come from places where they come from to have that place to reach out.”