Published: May 19, 2009 09:38 am      

Mr. President

CHS grad takes reins at Baylor

Presuming he voted for himself, Jordan Hannah was guaranteed victory in the recent election for Baylor University student body president.

He had no opposition.

“I don’t want to speculate too much on why,” the 2006 Cleburne High graduate said. “I would like to think I had the respect of other people who were thinking about running.”

Maybe they figured the politically savvy senior-to-be was going to win, anyway.

He already had skins on the wall. He was a class senator his freshman year, then sophomore class president, then junior class president.

“I’ve been involved in student government since my freshman year,” he said. “I enjoyed being a senator my freshman year, so I ran for class president the next two years. Being student body president is a great opportunity to serve the Baylor student body.”

Among his priorities is opening, or continuing, solid lines of communication with the university administration and board of regents.

“I don’t think there has ever been a student on the board of regents,” Hannah said. “Some previous student body officers pursued that. Some of the Big 12 schools like Nebraska and Kansas State have sitting members who are students. I think it’s important to start building positive relationships with the board. For anything to happen, there has to be a good relationship.”

He said he plans to be a kinder, gentler student body president who shies from inflammatory rhetoric.

“That’s the plan. I want to reach out. I want to focus on the positives, not just talk about the negatives. The students and regents have a common interest. I know we all want what’s best for Baylor.”

As the largest Baptist institution in the world, Baylor promotes Christian-oriented education and campus activity. But it does welcome students from all walks of life.

“We are diverse,” Hannah said. “One of the great things about Baylor is that the faith aspect is not shoved down your throat, but it is emphasized and talked about in the classroom. That’s one of the big things I love about Baylor. We have a Christian heritage. You can tell there is a sense of faith on campus.

“I’m the official voice of the student body now. I represent their opinions. Sometimes, I may have to go against my opinions if I’m clearly not in the majority. But I think I can represent the students’ interests well. I don’t think there are too many issues that we’re divided on.”

All — staff and students — appear to agree with Hannah that more can be done to make Baylor more welcoming to students with handicaps.

“I plan to work to improve access to campus for physically diasbled students,” Hannah said. “We need to fix little things, whether they’re ramps for sidewalks, automatic door openers or elevators that need to be renovated. When I was junior class president, we held a disability awareness event, and it focused on all disabilities. There were testimonials from disabled students. They didn’t hold back. It’s not something they’re ashamed of. Most students don’t even know what a learning disability is.

“I got interested in the disability issue when I noticed changes that could be made around the campus. I talked to one of our administrators, and she said this can be a start. I feel I can do quite a bit as student body president. We gained a lot of respect among the administrators for our desire to change things. They’re willing to work with us. I think there’s money available for it. The president’s office said there’s usually some money left in the budget at the end of the year. The president’s office has made a point of saying they want to focus on diversity and improving life for students on campus.”

Baylor is without a president. It just hired a vice president for student life.

“Most of my platform was improving relations between students and board of regents and the administration as a whole,” Hannah said. “We want to make sure we develop a good relationship with the new president from the get-go. Another thing I want to do is be part of a group of students that goes to Washington to lobby in our behalf. This year, some of the main issues are tax-free textbook legislation and Pell Grants for study abroad.”

The political science major and business and religion minor said he doesn’t know yet if he has political aspirations at the post-college level.

“I’m still figuring out what I want to do with my life.”