February 9, 2012

By Ciera Velarde

Triangle Coalition elected a new executive board for the 2012-13 academic year Wednesday. Legislative Liaison Taylor Dukes was named president-elect and will take over for the current president, Emily Colvin, in April.

“I’ve been planning over the past couple of months about how I could improve Triangle Coalition,” Dukes said. “I’ve been listening to feedback, and one of the things everyone’s touched on is retention and getting more people involved.”

According to the TriCo website, the purpose of the organization is to promote and maintain a healthy and positive environment for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning undergraduates and their supporters. Prior to the election, Colvin said she hopes the new executive board will be committed to furthering this mission.

“Tri-Co isn’t just a gay thing,” Colvin said. “It’s a race thing, it’s a gender thing, it’s everything. People who understand that are awesome candidates for these positions.”

In addition to selecting a president, five other positions were selected to take over for the current executive board in April. Paul Reeves was elected vice president, Laura Daily was elected treasurer, Dakota Botts was elected secretary, Mason Kerwick was elected communications officer and Theo Tushaus was elected legislative liaison.

“I’m really excited about getting my position,” Kerwick said. “I have a lot of social networking experience, so it should be exciting to see what I can add to the position next year.”

The electoral process began with the candidates for each position giving a short speech about why he or she would be good for the position, followed by a Q and A session. After the speeches had been given, the candidates left the room and the members of TriCo submitted paper ballots to be counted.

“As vice president, I will do what I can to fill any holes in the executive group,” Reeves said in his speech. “I will make TriCo bigger and greater than before.”

Besides electing the new executive board, TriCo discussed about Equality Day, which involves members heading down to Jefferson City to lobby.

“It’s important getting people to be active when something like gender expression comes to the Missouri ballot,” Dukes said. “Making sure we get the support when we need it is a big part of what we should be doing, as well as offering a simple community space for people while not being afraid of who they are.”

In the months leading up to April, the newly elected executive board members will shadow the current executive board to learn about their responsibilities and get a feel for the new position.

“I think the new executive board is going to be very good,” Colvin said. “I am excited to see them eventually take their positions and take TriCo a step further in its process of becoming a larger, more prominent group. These people are qualified for the position they selected, and I feel a lot of optimism at this point.”