After nearly five months without meeting due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the East Lansing’s Human Rights Commission came together once again for a general meeting. The central topic was of the commission meeting: electing a new commission chair and vice-chair for the year of 2022.
Beginning with the election of vice-chair, previous vice-chair, Liz Miller, nominated Katherine Rifiotis Slivensky. Slivensky, the youngest member of the Human Rights Commission, was hesitant to accept the nomination, but after support from her colleagues, was voted into the position.
“I suppose I look forward to spreading awareness of the commission to a wider audience, especially when a greater number of students are returning to Michigan State,” said Silvensky. “It can be disheartening to know that students don’t know much about our organization.”
After receiving and accepting an immediate nomination from commission member Thasin Sardar, Patrick Cannon was unanimously elected as the official commission chair.
Cannon, who has been blind since his birth, advocated for human rights prior to joining the commission. He was state director of the Michigan Commission for the Blind for 15 years, director of the Michigan Commission for Disability Concerns for 10 years and chair of the board of directors of the Capital Area Transportation Authority.
Looking onward to the following year, the newly-appointed president made his intentions clear. “What I look forward to during my time as chair is recapturing some of the momentum we’ve lost in developing our commission,” said Cannon.