Annabelle Gibson, chair of the Student Organizational Committee for the Student Senate, shares her story. PHOTO CREDIT: eastbayri.com
Fourth-year Anabelle Gibson is a University of Rhode Island student senator and the Student Organizations Committee chair, but her story is far more than just a member of the Student Senate.
Gibson, a triple major in political science, gender and women’s studies and economics, has been a member of Senate since 2020, thanks to her first-year roommate and current Speaker of the Assembly, Christopher Bove, convincing her to join.
“She used to wait for me to come home every Wednesday and I would talk about Senate, and things we were doing at the time,” Bove said. “She found it interesting and I kept telling her, ‘You should join, you would be great at it.’”
It wasn’t during her freshman year that she joined, however. While the University was still virtual the following fall, Gibson felt she had more free time and decided to join. At first, Gibson felt that being a member of the Senate was not for her.
“I joined when it was online, and I almost didn’t run again because it just didn’t have that sense of community that it has now,” Gibson said. “But almost every friend that I’ve made since coming to college has been in Senate. They’ve got some really great people, a lot of unique opportunities, a lot of different things to get involved in.”
Not only does Gibson enjoy the community that Senate brings, but also that it gets her involved with other events around campus.
“I think a lot of people don’t realize how many interesting events or clubs are happening on campus, and because we’re in Senate, we have to be aware of that stuff, so it’s a good way to get involved outside,” she said.
Within the Senate, Gibson is the chair of the Student Organizations Committee. In doing this, she oversees the recognition of clubs and student organizations by Senate, as well as the derecognition in circumstances where necessary.
“I feel like I’m the president of all clubs,” Gibson said about her role as chair.
She assists clubs in running, helps them with paperwork and writes bills in order to allow clubs to be recognized by the Senate and given funding. She also recommends to the treasury about what clubs should be given what funding.
Gibson said she tries to be as involved with clubs as possible, holding meetings with club presidents and training club leaders on different topics that are useful for running clubs, such as finance training. While she works with all clubs, clubs that have been recognized under her hold a special place to Gibson.
“I feel pretty involved in those newer clubs because I know who the president is because they came and talked to my committee,” Gibson said. “I know if they are having issues and I try to reach out and make sure that those issues have been resolved.”
Gibson is incredibly involved during her time outside of the Senate, too. She is a member of the URI College Democrats, an advocacy group working to enact political change in America. Additionally, she works as a TA for a microeconomics course and as an intern for Planned Parenthood. Even with her triple major and high level of involvement, she does not find balancing her time all that difficult.
“In 2020, everything I did was online and it felt impossible to deal with,” Gibson said. “So, you’re more capable than you think you are. I always thought I was an uninvolved person, and ever since I was elected chair, I realized how much I actually do. It’s good to take a step back and reflect on all the things you are doing instead of all the things you think you should be.”