ASB Student Senate Director of Communications Katheryn White would like to see more textbooks in the library.
“I definitely want to be able to take advantage of this and do something,” said White. “That is definitely something I had mentioned when running – doing something about books and the library. I think that would be great to get a resolution going.”
White won her seat on the Student Senate in the April general election, running on the recommendation of then-Director of Finance Jorge Riley.
Riley, who was elected ASB student senate president in that same election by a margin of 62 votes, but whose election was invalidated for reasons the administration and the ASB have not disclosed, said that White is a trustworthy person who shares his values.
“I needed people I felt would back me up and help me accomplish my goals,” said Riley. “I imagine the same reason the president appoints his cabinet the way he does.”
White has proven herself an independent voice on senate, serving on the committee that looked at a campaign violation Riley brought against opponent Tamara Dunning, who was declared the winner of the September special election and is now acting as ASB student senate president.
Following the committee’s meeting, Dunning’s victory in the September special election was not invalidated.
White says she underestimated the amount of work Student Senate entails.
“I didn’t realize what it would entail even though I had attended the meetings before. Now, actually being a part of it it’s really cool I have to say,” she said. “Being director of communications, I do have to take the minutes and get those set for the meetings and post what we’ve been doing and that’s the most important thing.”
When she’s not doing work for senate, White is busy with extracurricular activities. She works part-time for Leatherby’s ice cream, plays the harp in the ARC orchestra, teaches harp lessons, and sings in various choirs.
“I started playing the harp when I was six, all the way back to kindergarten,” she said. “I have four students so I’m already on that path of sharing with other people even though I’m still in the process of learning.”
White is a music major, saying that “It was a no-brainer when I graduated high school what I’d be majoring in in college.”
White sings with the Valley Choral Society, a volunteer organization for Sacramento singers.
“This year is going to be my third year with the Valley Choral Society. They’re a choir, they hire out an orchestra to play,” she said. “I get to sing in part of the concert too.”
White sang for eight years with the choir of St. Stephen the First Martyr Roman Catholic church in Sacramento, where she learned Gregorian Chant and solfege, a singing exercise.
“We sang Gregorian Chant every Sunday. It’s really rare for people to be able to do that so I was very fortunate to be able to learn that because it involved solfege, something that every music major is going to need to know,” she said.
White was the treasurer of Students For Life, an anti-abortion club, last semester. The club is no longer active due to a lack of membership and White’s lack of free time.
White is optimistic about student senate’s future.
“Its been a rough start to the year because it took a while to get us rolling with the special election but I feel like we’re really getting going now,” she said.
