King's International student is elected to Western University Senate

International student, Domonic McDonald, is one of two representatives from the affiliated university colleges on the Western University Senate. McDonald is in third year of studies at King’s. He is enrolled in the Honors Specialization in Political Science and the King’s Scholar program.

Western’s Senate is one of two main governing bodies of the University, and it deals primarily with academic issues and concerns of the University. There are only two available seats for affiliate student senators. Four students ran and the two students with the most votes were awarded the positions this term. Esme Panarello from Brescia University College won the other affiliate seat for 2017-2018. The current term ends June 30, 2018.

The University Senate is responsible for the academic policy of the University. With eighteen voting members, student representatives provide a student voice to administration, advising the Board of Governors on matters such as budget planning, as well as playing a large role in University planning.

Previous successes of Western student senators include earlier exam schedule releases, the establishment of a central course syllabus database at Western, and the October reading week. 

“My role as Huron, Brescia, King’s, (HBK) Senator entails representing the interests of the affiliate student bodies in discussions and the implementation of academic policy at Western. Together with other student representatives, we conduct extensive research on academic initiatives that students express interest in. We lobby other bodies around Western for support in implementing these initiatives.” He has served as chair on a working group that focused on pass/fail credits. Pass/fail credits enables students to take courses they are interested in without fear of affecting their GPA. These courses are recorded as pass or fail and do not affect students’ GPA. This initiative will be discussed at the upcoming Senate meeting.

McDonald came to King’s as an international student from Nassau, Bahamas. “I decided to study at King’s because I was a fan of the close-knit familial atmosphere here. I wanted to be sure that I would get the most value out of my university career, and I think that the resources that King’s offers best suited what I was looking for.”

McDonald was re-elected as a senator for the 2018-2019 term. Ainsley Leguard from Brescia won the second seat for the upcoming term. This term begins July 1, 2018 and ends June 30, 2019.