Meet Ethan Elmer, LSU Student Senate’s speaker with plans to encourage positive change around campus.
Elmer is from Alexandria, Louisiana and attended Bolton High School where he immersed himself in activities around his high school. He was a member of Mu Alpha Theta, a math competition club where he served on the board. Elmer was also his class president for three years and student body president his senior year.
Elmer managed to balance all of these extracurriculars on top of being involved with the tennis team.
“Coming to college I wanted to take a step back from everything, but then I learned about Student Government so I got the itch and applied for FLC [Freshman Leadership Council],” Elmer said.
After his involvement with FLC, Elmer was encouraged by the same person who explained SG to him during orientation to apply for a Senate seat. This moment sparked Elmer’s interest in SG where he would eventually become the speaker. Prior to this position, Elmer was also the speaker pro tempore of the Senate.
Being the speaker is a much different role than he originally had. He was very outspoken and tied to many pieces of legislation and bills in the past. Elmer now works on the administration team where he makes agenda and arranges rooms for their meetings.
Though he is busy with his new tasks, he still tries to be involved with as many resolutions and bills as he can manage.
Elmer said past senators like Lailah Williams are a big inspiration for how he wants to lead. He expressed that with his position he aims to make senators feel as comfortable as he once did when creating legislation.
Even though his role has changed, he is constantly thinking of possible solutions to improve the student body’s life on campus. He has a list of around 18 items of things small and large that he feels should be addressed on campus.
An issue Elmer hopes to address are the rules related to football tickets. He said students have shown up to the gate with their tickets and have been denied with a big red “X.”
The Senate is taking a look at this and how they can improve this issue for students.
Elmer has been working closely with Student Body President Lavar Henderson to bridge the gap between the executive board and Senate. They have had orientations with both branches for members of SG to meet new people outside of their branch.
A goal Elmer has for this upcoming semester is working on new programming and outreach. He said he wants to host more events like the food drive the Senate put on last year which donated over 500 food items to the LSU Food Pantry.
“I think it allows the Senate to be a little bit more immediately present because so much of the stuff we work on have one, two or even five-year timelines behind it,” Elmer said. “I think having the occasional volunteer or food drive is really important to put us present in the moment.”
One of Elmer’s first pieces of legislation has a special place in his heart.
When he first joined the Senate he was part of legislation that a former senator had started to fund recycling bins on campus. They partnered with an organization from New Orleans that collects the bins on campus and break down the glass and silica. It could then be used for construction or coastal restoration projects.
Elmer said that writing this legislation and seeing the effects of his work on campus to this day was what got the ball rolling in his love for the Senate.
For his legacy, Elmer hopes to create a safe space in the Senate, and encourage senators to get involved and get out of their comfort zone. He hopes to emphasize that SG is more than just scheduled meetings. Its adding benches to campus, updating academic guidelines and striving to make students’ lives easier.
Elmer said that if the student body can see this through his leadership he will feel like he accomplished his goals.
“I want a legacy of mentorship and knowing that if one of the current chairs becomes a Student Government leader in the future they will always feel comfortable to reach out to me,” Elmer said.
This story was updated to clarify the number of years Ethan Elmer was class president and student body president in high school.
