Aaron Youngblood
  • Political Science
  • Class of 2013
  • Hornlake, Miss.

Aaron Youngblood of Hornlake, Miss. Serves as Student Senator at Benedictine University

2011 Nov 30

Prospective and current college students want to know that their concerns and opinions are being carefully considered by university administrators. At Benedictine University, the Student Senate is their voice.

Aaron Youngblood, a Political Science major from Hornlake, Miss. is a member of the Student Senate at Benedictine University.

Serving as a liaison between the student body and the administration, the Student Senate is a powerful influence on campus. It seeks to enhance the school's cultural and social environment, promotes academic honesty, and pushes for improving technology in the classroom and throughout campus.

But the Student Senate is not just a promoter of change on campus. It has also created a variety of volunteer and fundraising activities that serve the surrounding community.

The Student Senate recently secured the cooperation of the Benedictine University Police Department to create a Ticket Amnesty Program. Students who receive tickets for non-alcohol or non drug-related offenses can bring donations of four yards of fleece, two children's toys or 15 canned goods to the Benedictine Student Success Center and have their ticket expunged.

The senate is also leading canned good drives to benefit local food pantries and other charities,

"Senators who represent athletics on campus have partnered with other clubs and organizations to collect food, which will be distributed to three local food pantries – Lisle Food Pantry, African American Evangelical Church and Operation Support Our Troops," Joan Henehan, Student Senate advisor said. "We have already collected close to 2,000 cans."

Working on a community service project at the DuPage County Convalescence Home, raising funds for the H.O.P.E. scholarship for those whose lives have been affected by cancer, and hosting its annual "Breakfast with Santa" in the Krasa Student Center are other activities of the Student Senate.

"Breakfast with Santa" will be held from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 17. The Krasa Dining Room will be transformed into a winter wonderland where children of all ages will be able to meet Santa, Mrs. Claus and his hard-working elves.

The cost is $10 per person. Children under age 2 are free.

Benedictine University is an independent Roman Catholic institution located in Lisle, Illinois just 25 miles west of Chicago. Founded in 1887, Benedictine provides 54 undergraduate majors, 13 graduate and four doctorate programs. The Chronicle of Higher Education recently ranked Benedictine University as the seventh fastest-growing campus among private nonprofit master's universities, and Forbes magazine named Benedictine among the top 20 percent of America's colleges for 2011. Benedictine University's Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) program is listed by Crain's Chicago Business as the fourth largest in the Chicago area in 2011.