As president of the URI Student Senate, Cody Anderson is pushing to get the Senate to expand its focus to include more state and national issues rather than addressing exclusively campus-related topics. Following the recent elections, he said it’s important for “students to have an increasingly important role at the state and national level when it comes to education and inclusion.”
So he’s pushing for the Senate to learn more about Gov. Gina Raimondo’s Rhode Island Promise initiative, seek a state commitment to protect undocumented students, tackle college affordability by critically assessing student fees and endorsing open education resources, and find ways to protect environmental research funding.
Cody joined the Senate as a freshman and was assigned to a committee to address the question of arming campus police. “I really enjoyed the process of talking to students and faculty and administrators and hosting discussions, and I got to see how URI really values student input,” he said. One of his favorite parts of his Senate experience has been listening to the opinions of others and finding a compromise that is agreeable to the greatest number of stakeholders.
In his role as Senate president, Cody is seldom on the sidelines. At the celebration of the University’s 125th anniversary, he was one of the featured speakers. “This is really an incredible place,” said Cody, who also served as an orientation leader for two years and vice president of his fraternity. “It’s welcoming, it’s accomplished, it’s academically strong, and most importantly, it’s home.”