The Allegheny Student Government gathered for their weekly general assembly on Tuesday, Sept. 20, to witness the first public appearance of the newly-appointed president of Allegheny College, Ron Cole, ’87.
Cole was only in attendance for “a few remarks.” Both he and ASG Vice President Rudra Schultz-Ray, ’23, expressly clarified that students with questions and comments should bring them to one of the meetings Cole reserved for students — as opposed to staff and faculty — which occurred on Sept. 21 and 22.
“I do look forward to collaborating and working closely with ASG,” Cole said. “I am deeply committed to Allegheny. I am deeply committed to you as students, and this stems from my experience as a student at Allegheny.”
Cole recounted the history of his professional career at the college, beginning as a professor, then as provost, serving on numerous committees and participating in college wide projects all the while.
The changes Link brought on, specifically surrounding holistic student success, will not be radically changed, Cole explained. Cole once again asked that students meet with him, specifically through this time of transition, to set a precedent of listening and communication.
“I want you to know that I believe in Allegheny,” Cole said. “I believe in you. I respect the faculty and our staff. I’m deeply committed, and I plan to lead on a foundation of trust.”
With no constituent comments, GA continued with its regularly scheduled agenda items once Cole left.
Appointments to the dining board were the high note of the evening, with the unanimous approval of the appointment of ASG Chief of Staff Ray Colabawalla, ’25; Senator London Dejarnette, ’24; Class of 2026 President Sam Ault; Lydia Wagner, ’26; and Andrew Germann, ’26.
Dean for Student Success Ian Binnington remarked later in the meeting that student participation on both ASG and college committees is necessary.
“Student voice matters,” Binnington said. “Student voice is very important to those committees, and in fact they don’t run properly if they don’t have student voice in them. I realize that it’s an imposition on people’s time and it’s not sexy to serve on a committee, but it is actually really important work.”
Co-Director of Student Affairs Cam Lesher, ’24, also addressed concerns over transportation for students following the cancellation of the Loop.

“We don’t have any solutions right now,” Lesher said. “If you have solutions, come to office hours.”
Interim Dean of Student Life and ASG Advisor Trae Yeckley clarified later in the meeting that they are working with the Office of Public Safety as well as community members to create a safe mode of transportation for students, but it still is currently just conversations.
Dejarnette asked about the use of Zipcars on campus — two vehicles that were able to be rented by students at an hourly rate.
“As far as I know, we spoke to Jen Foxman before she left her position here, and she spoke on how it was a private decision by Zipcar not to bring the cars back to campus,” Shultz-Ray said.
Director of Finance Andrianna Solis, ’23, requested $1,564 from the general fund, $889 from surplus and $374.26 from the CILC fund for a number of upcoming events: AGES’ multicultural field day, AGES’ coming-out day, the class of 2025’s welcome event, the Rotaract Club food drive, Black Girl Magic’s all-white dance, Women in Pop Culture’s screening of “Don’t Worry Darling” and the South Asian Student Societies’ general body meeting.
President Veronica Green, ’23, said she has been working on a poll to gauge student opinions on the monthly pay cycle.
“A lot of our conjoining institutions have bi-weekly pay, and we’re one of the only ones in the Great Lake Conference that have monthly pay and I think that’s weird,” Green said.
Green also said that her report on the cabinet dinner with administrators was delayed this week due to the sudden departure of Link.
“I don’t want to preempt (Green)’s report on the cabinet dinner,” Binnington said, “but I wanted to point out how much I enjoyed it. I appreciated the opportunity to sit and eat with some of you and talk to you, and I’m looking forward to the ability for (Yeckley) and I to communicate with (Lesher) and (co-Director of Student Affairs Amani Green) on a regular basis.”
The meeting was adjourned at 8:11 p.m.