York College’s New Student Senate President Eyes Campus Involvement As His Main Goal
Charlie Green ’23 was elected for the leadership post of the governing body in April.
Charlie Green ‘23 experienced the ups and downs of the COVID-19 pandemic at York College of Pennsylvania. When the pandemic forced social distancing guidelines and altered his college experience during his sophomore year, he and others hoped to return to campus with a new energy to connect.
Charlie served as Student Senate Vice President of Organizational Development, working with student clubs to make sure rosters were up to date and to find opportunities to grow, as well as helping to create clubs. Working through the challenges of 2020 was a grind, but he’s proud to say that as the YCP community opened back up, Student Senate “hit the ground running.”
“We had to teach first-year students and sophomores how to be club presidents, help them see what it’s like running an organization and see what non-COVID life was like on campus,” Charlie says. “That’s what we focused on and, over time, campus brightened up this year.”
Charlie continues his quest to enliven the campus since being elected to the Student Senate presidency in April. His term runs through the 2022-2023 academic year.
“As my connection with the College grew, I realized how long it takes to implement ideas,” Charlie says. “I knew there were some things I wanted to do to allow my friends in younger classes to heighten their YCP experience.”
Goals as Senate President
Charlie wants to achieve several goals before he graduates in May 2023. One of his passions is to create a common hour for students, a time when no classes or athletic practices can take place.
The idea struck Charlie during his time as Vice President. He heard from students who wanted to be involved in clubs but couldn’t because of time constraints or schedule conflicts. Charlie understands the time crunch as he is a swim team member and a Resident Assistant. He also participates in numerous clubs.
One-third of the College’s students are commuters, Charlie says. The only time that would allow for a common hour for activities outside of class hours is after 9:30 p.m., when commuters would have to drive back to campus and then drive home late at night.
“That’s not fair to commuters,” Charlie says. “This is something that would be huge and beneficial. I don’t know if I’ll see it in my time, but I hope with the power of polling and surveys, it might be something we’re able to do. Even if it’s two days per week, we’d allow a lot of these students to get even more involved.”
Charlie’s other goals are to work with campus officials to allow more buildings on the West Campus to permit a limited amount of alcohol for students of legal age, and to help Residence Life receive more funding to counter inflation and bring more food to student events.
“I’m ready to get going in the new school year,” Charlie says. “I enjoy meeting new people and finding ways to heighten their experience at York College.”
‘Take the leap of faith’
Charlie, a Finance and Accounting major, has served a pair of internships at RKL, an accounting and business consulting firm in York, and is interning this summer with the accounting firm KPMG in Harrisburg.
He believes York College has prepared him for his career by helping him connect and enhance his communication skills.
“I’ve learned that networking is one of the most important things you can do, and York College helped me branch out and intertwine in a lot of things,” Charlie says.
As the new Student Senate President, he encourages all students, especially first-year students, to get involved on campus.
“Take the leap of faith and join something you’re passionate about,” Charlie says. “You get to have experiences you wouldn’t have staying in. Getting involved taught me a lot of soft skills that I’ll keep with me forever.”
