The two freshman class representatives were elected to Parliament — Temple Student Government’s legislative branch — last weekend.
The two new representatives are freshmen political science majors Jakob Morris and Daisy Confoy. Three freshmen ran for the seats in Parliament, Elections Commissioner Matthew Diamond said.
Confoy gained internet notoriety last May when a video of her asking New Jersey Rep. Tom MacArthur whether or not rape would be considered a pre-existing condition under the American Health Care Act. The video was shared thousands of times on social media. MacArthur had authored an amendment affecting guaranteed healthcare coverage for pre-existing conditions which prompted Confoy’s question.
Tense exchange as woman asks MacArthur if rape is a pre-existing condition in AHCA @NBCPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/X16jnAKFh7
— Drew Smith (@drewsmithtv) May 10, 2017
“Coming into Temple, I wanted to get really involved right away,” she said. “I saw the application and just went for it. It seemed interesting.”
Morris said he wants to use his local government experience in his home state of Rhode Island to continue affecting change.
“I’m pretty far away from Pennsylvania so I was thrusting myself into a new situation,” he said. “I wanted to bring some of the activities and advocacy actions I was doing in Rhode Island to this school.”
Morris served as a representative and secretary on the Rhode Island Student Advisory Council during his senior year of high school. His team worked to reform school safety policies and keep students and faculty informed of emergency procedures.
“I liked the way that [Parliamentarian Jacob Kurtz] and the Elections Commissioner referred to Parliament as TSG’s legislative branch,” he added. “I thought that would be the most direct way to advocate for not only my class, but all Temple students.”
This was the first time an election has taken place in the Fall semester. The rest of Temple Student Government was voted into office at the end of the Spring semester.
The amount of votes for freshman elections has yet to be calculated, Diamond said.
Morris said he wants to use his platform to continue making Temple more inclusive.
“Just talking with my friends or networking within groups, I understand there’s a lot of nervousness amongst students in the LGBT community and minority communities that I’d like to eliminate in this position,” he said
As a freshman representative, Confoy’s major goal is increasing civic engagement on campus.
“I want to get people involved, let them know who their representatives are,” she said. “I was thinking of more events like voter workshops, especially leading up to elections, on how to register, how to get an absentee ballot, would be really helpful.”
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