On Wednesday, December 2, the student community elected Kwabena Bamfo ’17 and Michael Tamakloe ’17 to serve as President and Vice-President (respectively) of the student government Executive arm. Prince Kennedy Kwarase ‘17 and David Kwame Okyere ’17 were also elected to be Chairperson and Vice Chairperson (respectively) of the Judicial and Electoral Committee, the legislative arm of student government.
“It’s common practice for governments to restructure entire systems in the event of a change in administration,” says Bamfo, who expressed healthy respect for the work of the current student leadership during his campaign. “Ghana’s high school educational system serves as with the best example, having been switched from three years to four, and then back to three. We have to be careful not to replicate the mistakes of our leaders in government. Continuity is important. It would be a huge indiscretion on my part to completely ignore the efforts of people who came before me.”
The incoming student leadership team has its work cut out, as students continue to demand more active engagement and reform from their representatives.
“It is my hope that we can encourage people to think differently about student culture,” says Kwarase. “Ashesi’s initial culture was created by students like us; we need to take charge and do more to strengthen it. Our plan is to start engaging students in more initiatives designed to foster commitment to leadership on campus. Congratulations, and godspeed, to our new student government heads!