Council of Student Leaders Chair Erin Emiroglu has always had a passion for student government. She was a member of Emerging Leaders during her freshman year in 2018 and joined the Council of Student Leaders her sophomore year. She is also a member of the Winthrop College Democrats and Alpha Delta Pi.
Emiroglu is a senior political science major with a minor in health. She is a first-generation college student and also a first-generation American, having a father who immigrated to the United States from Turkey.
While her role is officially called the Chair of the Council of Student leaders, Emiroglu considers her role in simpler terms. “I’m the liaison between the student governing body and the student body. I report to the board and the President.”
The Council of Student Leaders has three main responsibilities: charter new organizations, connect students with senior leadership and engage with students directly to hear their concerns.
Emiroglu said that she has three particular goals she wants to achieve during her tenure as the Chair of the Council of Student Leaders, or CSL.
“I want to expand the knowledge of what CSL is to the student body and increase the visibility of the organization. I also want to engage students more with the campus and senior leadership here at Winthrop. Lastly, I want to continue the advancement of CSL for students so that they can have a better Winthrop experience,” she said.
She and CSL are working to achieve these goals by engaging students with administration directly more frequently.
“We have been increasing garnet table talks which is where we bring in administration from different offices and have them present information on different topics and students can then ask questions”
She said that advocacy for students plays the largest role in what CSL does.
“We communicate directly with senior leadership. We go directly to our advisor, the Vice President of Student Affairs Shelia Higgs Burkhalter, and she takes them to higher leadership.”
Emiroglu also encourages students to interact more with the Council of Student Leaders.
“Our meetings are open to anyone. At the end of our meetings, we have an open floor so students can bring any of their concerns,” she said.
The Council of Student Leaders meets weekly on Mondays at 7 p.m. in Dina’s Place.
Students are also welcome to sit in on committee meetings. There are four committees: Internal, Civic Engagement, Campus Safety and Public Engagement that meet weekly and plan a majority of the events that CSL puts on.
Some events include the monthly “Garnet Table Talks” with different members of the administration such as Winthrop University Police Chief Charles Yearta and Title IX Coordinator Kevin Sheppard.
Emiroglu said that she wants students to know that “you have CSL members coming in weekly and advocating for you. We try to affect change in the ways that we can.”
