Students can vote for next year’s Residential College Association (RCA) president on MyGate on March 10. Here is what to know about each candidate.
Kathrine Stark, junior public and community health major, and Eliana Flinchum, freshmen accounting and economics major, are the two candidates vying for the presidency next year.
Stark currently serves as the Residential College Council (RCC) president for Elizabeth College. She is also the secretary of the Elizabeth Honors Society and serves as president for both the Episcopal Campus Ministry and Murray State Dance Club.
Originally at Murray on a sports scholarship, Stark said an injury left her here without many friends or hobbies during her time on campus. It was after urging by another student in her dorm that she became involved with RCC. Now, Stark said she wants to use RCA to make Murray a home for all students.
“I want to make an environment that is accepting to all students and so that all students feel like they have a place and belong somewhere,” Stark said. “I want to give back to residential life what it gave to me.”
Stark pointed to her extensive leadership experience and skills as one of her qualifications as president.
She also said she has connections with the Student Government Association (SGA) and its current president; connections which could help in her goal of fostering a more collaborative relationship between the two governmental bodies. Another goal she said is to host more collaborative events with organizations both on and off campus, such as the Public Health Department and Pride Center.
“I hope to bridge the gap that’s between RCA and SGA,” Stark said. “Currently, the Campus Activities Board and our student senate do a lot of collaborative events, but we are kind of the odd ones out. So I want to bridge that gap.”
Stark also said she wants to continue building a campus environment built on diversity, equity and inclusion. One of her goals, Stark said, is to make sure every student feels like they belong at Murray State.
One problem Stark faces as president is the limited extent of her term. If elected as president, Stark would only be able to serve half her term before graduating in the fall. Stark, however, said this should not be a problem.
Stark said the current plan is to create a spring event list to plan and organize activities after her departure. She will also set up her executive board and coordinating officers to be prepared for the spring transition and training of their next president.
The other candidate, Flinchum, currently serves as the RCA representative for RH White Residential College as well as the vice president of records and finance for the RCA.
Flinchum said she originally joined RCA to get involved with campus life. After seeing the programs RCA planned, Flinchum said she knew she wanted to be a bigger part of the association and later applied to be vice president of records and finance.
“I have learned so much and I have come up with so many ideas,” Flinchum said. “I want to implement these ideas. I want to increase programs. I want to become more of an efficient team. And I just really want to help keep Murray State on the map.”
One of these ideas, Flinchum said, is to work closely with the vice president of programming to increase programming and activities. She also wants to implement more professional project management styles in the RCA executive board and work with students to hear what activities or programs they want.
Another focus for Flinchum is maintaining RCA involvement with the South Atlantic Affiliate of Colleges and University Residence Halls (SAACURH). SAACURH is an organization that provides networking and resources to participating residential college organizations, including yearly conferences.
As for skills and qualifications for the role of president, Flincum said she is an empathetic leader who works well with others. She highlighted her ability to effectively communicate and take advice from others. She also pointed to her experiences as a prop crew lead and president of her high school chemistry club as experiences that helped shape her leadership skills.
The problem Flinchum faces in her campaign for presidency is her short time on campus. With credits gained from North Kentucky University, Flinchum said she came to Murray classified as a sophomore. But at only 18 and with only two semesters on Murray State’s campus, she said some have called her run for president ambitious.
“I’ve always been told I’m ambitious and hard-working,” Flinchum said. “And even when I’m thrown into situations where I really don’t know what I’m doing, I always learn to swim. I’m not afraid to rely on my resources. And I think that (the fact) I’m already on the executive board of RCA speaks to that.”
Flinchum said her run for president was encouraged and endorsed by current RCA president Jaylon Taggart. Originally planning to run during her junior year, Flinchum said Taggart encouraged her to run this year. Flinchum said his confidence in her ability to lead speaks volumes on her qualification for presidency.
“I know I can do this,” Flinchum said. “I know I would be a very good president in my core, I just need people to take a chance. And if I don’t get it now, I will be RCA president some time in my next four years”
Voting for RCA president is open Monday, March 10, from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. Any student can vote through MyGate during that time. Results are expected the following Wednesday.
