The Gustavus student body has elected Nick Prince and Jen Fox as its next Student Senate co-presidents. The results from the Feb. 28 poll favored Prince and Fox over opponents Blake Gust and Kate Redden, showing 54.1 percent of the vote for the winning duo and 41.9 percent for Gust and Redden. 760 students voted in the election, which is more than the past two years. Prince and Fox began their campaign partnership toward the end of last academic year, and they found that each has a lot to offer the campus.

“Jen asked me to run with her at the end of last year,” Prince, a junior classics and political science major, said. The two were forced to be flexible when Fox left for a semester in Sweden that would limit her accessibility during the campaign.

“One thing that was really nice was having her around for all of the electronic stuff. We tried to keep her involved through online media. She handled a lot of the Facebook stuff and she created a couple videos,” Prince said.

Fox was available for comment via e-mail.

“Since Sweden is seven hours ahead of Minnesota, getting used to the rhythm of communication took a while. Timing of e-mails or Skype conferences often happened pretty late at night for me. But, we are very lucky that technology is so incredible,” Fox said.

The co-presidents formed a partnership after Fox approached Prince with the idea of running for Student Senate. Making sure each was compatible for the other as a running mate was a necessary process. Both referred to conversations they had about things they noticed around campus, and discussions they had with people within the Gustavus community.

“All of our discussions ended up in good places, so we figured that was a sign to progress with commencing our campaign,” Fox said.

Issues the pair joined on included the creation of a multi-faith space on campus, the recent changes in the Campus Safety escort policy and the policy changes and renovations to the Dive that have been discussed by current and past Senate co-presidents. In discussion, Prince and Fox found their shared ground and agreed how to move forward should they be elected.

“I really like the idea of the multi-faith space; it wasn’t something that had even crossed my mind until Jen brought it up, but I absolutely love this idea. I spoke passionately about it to [Director of Multicultural Programs] Virgil Jones,” Prince said. Since their early conversations on the topic, a campus committee has made significant progress on securing the former KGSM studio as a multi-faith space when the radio station is relocated to the new academic building.

“It’s obviously an issue that can be worked on more and looked at, which is what Jen and I plan on doing,” Prince said.

One aspect of their new positions that both Fox and Prince expressed excitement and passion about is the Senate’s interactions with student organizations on campus. Fox has been a member of the Campus Activities Board for three years and has previously participated in student groups such as I Am We Are, Model United Nations and  Viking Society, as well as working at the Information Desk and on an advisory committee for Gustavus’s sesquicentennial celebration.

“I have experienced many things on campus that give me a perspective that Senate does not often find. I am excited to bring that insight and energy to the group,” Fox said.

Prince has also been highly involved in student groups as well as Student Senate. As a first-year, Prince was involved with the finance processes of both the Diversity Leadership Council and College Democrats.

“I saw a lot of that side of things and how the process works, which is perhaps why I see that there are things that could be done better. My first interaction with the process wasn’t from the Senate side, it was from the group side. Maybe that’s why I value group input so much too, because that’s really why I joined Senate,” Prince said.

Prince serves as treasurer and as a member of the executive board for Sigma Alpha Epsilon, the first national fraternity at Gustavus, as well as devoting time to Gustavus Ambassadors and writing as a columnist for The Weekly.

Prince has been a member of Student Senate since his sophomore year when he was Complex representative, and continued his role this year as junior class representative until his co-president election.

Student group experience was a big issue for Prince and Fox, as both have had various experiences with student groups and their interactions with Student Senate.

“It’s really through student groups and getting involved that students define their college career,” Prince said.

Outside of specific projects that both are excited to start work on, Fox and Prince look forward to moving into their new roles on the Student Senate and facilitating interaction between the Senate and the campus community as a whole.

“I am absolutely honored that Gustavus [students] chose Nick and I to lead them into our school’s 150th year,” Fox said.