Entering office following a semester of campus protests and unrest, this year’s student body presidents are committed to bridging the communication gap between students and administrators and improving the well-being of their constituents across the 5Cs.
Devlin Orlin PO ‘25
Devlin Orlin PO ‘25, the student body president at the Associated Students of Pomona College (ASPC), is no stranger to leadership roles. He has served as class president in both his first and second years, panelist for Pomona’s Judicial Council panelist and office staff for Campus Advocacy, Resources, Education and Support (CARES).
He is now approaching his new position with a broader vision.
“I think one of the big roles as a student body president is to provide organizational leadership to ASPC,” said Orlin. “It’s really the opportunity to guide the student government to interact with students in a meaningful way.”
Recognizing the importance of enhancing student representation in administrative committees, Orlin endeavors to foster a deeper connection between ASPC and Pomona’s Board of Trustees. Now, the student representatives in the Board of Trustees are looped into the weekly ASPC Senate meetings.
“I’m trying to ensure that at the Board of Trustees meetings, we are considered as full-voting members, as the Board of Trustees bylaws state,” Orlin said. “It’s important that when we have those seats, we’re leveraging those as best we can.”
Since the April 5 arrest of 20 5C students, and calls for divestment escalating the prolonged tension on campus, student protests have occupied a large presence on campus. Orlin is working to strike a balance between advocating for the student body and working closely with administrators.
“I’m elected by the student body, so I really work hard to represent it,” Orlin said. “It’s really difficult when [the administration has] arrested students, yet never made real steps towards the divestment that 85 percent of the students that voted in our referendum last year wanted.”
In terms of campus life, he is collaborating closely with ASPC’s Vice President of Finance, Liz Giwa, to ensure the college budget is allocated in a way that centers students needs. He listed several possibilities, including free laundry and air-conditioners in dorms.
“We try to think of what the students’ priorities are,” Orlin said.
Melina Durre SC ‘25
After serving for a year and a half as Vice President of Student Activities for Scripps Associated Students (SAS), Melina Durre SC ‘25 is excited to empower student voices within the Scripps community as she steps into her role as SAS president.
One of Durre’s main priorities is to continue the work of her predecessor, Lily Dunkin SC ‘24, and increase collaboration with the other 5C student presidents.
“I’m really excited to create a more cohesive student government approach, collaborate more [and] hopefully do events that are joined [with the other 5Cs],” Durre said.
She also plans to encourage student feedback by regularly hosting “Be Heard” forums.
“[Be Heard] forums are essentially places for students to come, like a town hall meeting, and express their concerns and see if we can do anything about it,” she explained. “So that will be a place for us to have effective dialogue with the student body.”
Durre finds one of the challenges of her tenure to be the imbalance in the influence of SAS compared to the other 5C student governments.
“We don’t have that kind of power here, so it’s really a big struggle between contacting a bunch of people, continuously showing up at meetings and really pushing and pressing,” Durre said.
However, she said she plans to address this discrepancy by increasing transparency and cohesion among the different levels of student administration and ensuring that information shared at committee meetings is made public.
Ava Kopp CM ‘25
Involved in ASCMC since her first year on campus, Ava Kopp CM ‘24 characterized her commitment to her role as one rooted in addressing student needs.
To that end, one of her main goals is to reform the residential budget and create a structural change that directs funding toward the needs of current students.
“I want the money that students are paying to go back to them,” Kopp said. “Our ASCMC Executive Board has worked on legislation that would allow dorm presidents to be senators. They will come to a senate meeting and be able to present what they’re working on.”
Another goal of Kopp’s campaign is to build effective dialogue between the students and administration, working with the Dean of Students Office to do so.
“I want CMC students to be able to look at CMC’s interpretation of the demonstration policy and know exactly what will or won’t happen based on the actions they take,” Kopp said. “We will be having conversations about whether or not the current demonstration policy restricts or compromises freedom.”
Through other initiatives such as supporting peer mentorship groups and prioritizing student feedback regarding Collins Dining Hall, Kopp is hoping to put students first in her presidency.
Serena Mao HM ‘25; Shivani Manivasagan HM ‘25
At Harvey Mudd College, Serena Mao HM ‘25 and Shivani Manivasagan HM ‘25 share their leadership responsibilities as co-presidents.
“I think it’s important for you to be a good role model and be someone who’s approachable and actually cares and makes an effort to interact with people,” Mao said.
Similar to the other 5C student body presidents, Mao stressed improved communication between the student body and the administration as one of their main goals.
“I can notice that there’s still a big disconnect between what the students want and what the administration thinks the students want,” she said. “I’m interested in doing work there to help bridge that gap.”
The co-presidents are also focusing on a panel of structural reform, with Manavisagan aiming to make the club budgeting process more organized and transparent. She is also spearheading the rewriting of the constitutional documents, replacing outdated language and specifying job descriptions.
“From executive board positions to dorm presidents, [we want to] make sure [that] these roles are very defined,” Manavisagan said. “[We aim] to identify gaps where things went wrong in our experience and to make sure we can prevent them for the future.”
Paa Thompson PZ ‘25
Paa Thompson PZ ‘25 has been involved with student government since his freshman year at Pitzer College, previously holding positions in both the Senate’s Judicial Council and Student Alumni Committee. Now serving as President of the Student Senate, Thompson has plans to expand campus resources and make student voices heard.
“[Pitzer has] been around for over 60 years, and we don’t have a solid quantitative skill center,” Thompson said. “It’s part of our education for liberal arts. Every field group [and] subject area should be adequately represented and students should have support.”
Being an international student himself, Thompson also has plans to improve the experience for future international students. Having experienced communication gaps when he first arrived on campus, he said he hopes to provide guidance to students, noting that he wants to direct them to campus resources available to them.
“I feel compelled to create positive change and ensure that future students have a more enriching and supportive experience,” he explained.
Thompson is also looking to his colleagues such as Andrés Fernández, Pitzer’s new Vice President for Student Affairs, to help uplift student voices and navigate Pitzer’s political climate.
“I feel like [Fernández] would be someone that’s valuable to the student groups on campus and highlight their needs,” Thompson said. “He has a closer tie to the administration and can advocate for students.”
Altogether, Thompson believes that his job is to promote the will of the student body.
“It’s not about what I want,” he said. “I’m here to serve the students.”
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