The 2024-25 Association of Students of the University of Nebraska held its last meeting of the term Wednesday, reflecting on their work before the inauguration of incoming senators and executive officers.
Former ASUN President Elizabeth Herbin highlighted some ASUN projects from the end-of-the-year report, including work to give student regents a vote on the NU Board of Regents, an Uber Safe Ride Program funded by Nebraska Athletics and hosting a town hall after the Office of Diversity and Inclusion closed in August.
The full end-of-year report can be read here.
The other executive officers spoke on their experiences within ASUN and the challenges they faced this year.
Former Chief of Staff Reem Ahmed said she believes ASUN is the leading voice for student advocacy.
Ahmed said a persistent challenge and standing failure of ASUN is meaningfully serving Black and minority students.
“From the beginning of my time at ASUN, we have worked to rebuild our reputation and regain the trust of minority students on this campus,” she said. “And while that journey will never be over, I think significant progress has been made.”
Ahmed said ASUN members dismissed her work on diversity, equity and inclusion as performative and not important.
“This isn't a cautionary tale or an account of distant figures; this is my lived experience from within ASUN, along with some here seated within this room,” Ahmed said. “And yet it was those experiences that made my purpose clearer than ever to carry forward advocacy that so many others deemed optional.”
At the beginning of the school year, ASUN’s executive team took action to condemn the ODI closure.
The Daily Nebraskan sat down with Ahmed and then-Speaker of the Senate Renata Cadena to discuss Chancellor Rodney Bennett’s move to close the ODI, where the two said they were disappointed but not shocked.
Ahmed spearheaded the ODI Closure town hall alongside UNL’s NAACP chapter.
Cadena echoed Ahmed on the importance of DEI efforts in her speech.
“Advocacy work wasn't something I always dreamed of doing,” Cadena said. “It wasn't a lifelong plan. It became a necessity because there weren't enough people willing to stand up in communities like mine, for people who look like me who appear in my culture, my story and my struggles. So I stepped up.”
She called on the newly elected ASUN members to continue work left by the Herbin administration.
“It would be easy to stay silent, to play it safe, or to prioritize comfort over justice, but leadership demands more than that,” Cadena said. “They need to remember that history should not and cannot repeat itself; that every decision they make, every voice they uplift or ignore, will place them on one side of the story or the other.”
Former Internal Vice President Zein Saleh called on the current student body to demand more from ASUN.
“Don't accept leadership that is performative or self-serving,” he said. “Expect purpose and courage. Expect leaders who understand that this role means commitment to an agenda, to fight for students even when it's uncomfortable, even when it's inconvenient.”
Former External Vice President Luke McDermott urged the new administration to step up in moments of uncertainty and unpredictability.
“Fight for students when it is inconvenient to your life plans, when it is unpopular amongst administration and officeholders, and especially when it feels as though you’ve hit a brick wall; when it feels as though the powers that be are against you; when it feels impossible. Because nobody will do it for you. It is now your charge,” McDermott said.
The elected 2025-26 ASUN senators and executive officers held their first meeting Wednesday after taking the oath of office.
Herbin passed off the baton as student body president and student regent to Libby Wilkins, a junior agricultural leadership major.
Benjamin Morgan, a junior architecture major and former College of Architecture senator, was sworn in as internal vice president.
Misha Jalali, a junior psychology major and former College of Arts and Sciences senator, was sworn in as external vice president.
Wilkins appointed Emily Frech, a sophomore marketing and management double major, as chief of staff. The chief of staff serves as assistant to the ASUN president, according to the ASUN bylaws.
The Senate took nominations for Speaker of the Senate, Appointments Board Chair and Freshman Campus Leadership Associates Appointments Board Chair and will hear and vote on them next week.
Speaker of the Senate:
The Speaker of the Senate serves as the official spokesperson for the Senate and sets the meeting agenda.
The senators nominated were:
College of Arts and Sciences Sen. Maddie Beasley
College of Business Sen. Leonardo Luna-Duran
Appointments Board Chair:
The Appointments Board Chair leads the Appointments Board to interview and nominate students to fill vacant positions in ASUN.
The senators nominated were:
College of Arts and Sciences Sen. Maathir Basi
College of Education and Human Sciences Sen. Taryn Lauver
Freshman Campus Leadership Associates Appointments Board:
The FCLA Appointments Board interviews and appoints up to 24 freshmen from the Class of 2029 to the FCLA cohort. The Senate will vote on two senators to chair the FCLA Appointments Board.
The senators nominated were:
College of Arts and Sciences Sen. Mason Ain
College of Business Sen. Leonardo Luna-Duran
College of Business Sen. Bella Ruda
College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Sen. Kurt Schneider
Exploratory and Pre-Professional Center Sen. Abba Yagub
ASUN will hold its next meeting on Wednesday, April 24, at 6:30 p.m. in the Nebraska Union Platte River Room.