Shineika Fareus

Former Student Body President (2020 – 2021) 

Shineika Fareus served as the Executive President of GCSA during the 2020-2021 Academic Year. During her presidency, she helped lead and advocate for the student body during a time of hardship on campus.

Shineika, alongside her Executive Vice President, Cam Grinnell, advocated for and collaborated with college leadership on the first student-lead renovation project in Gordon’s history. The redesigning of Gillies represented the delivery of a long-time GCSA promise to the student body. This took a year of planning, and although it was not unveiled until after her presidency, Fareus was integral in the projects’s success. 

The national conversation on racial justice was present at Gordon. After several racial incidents on Campus, Fareus helped lead the student body to demand that the college address systemic racism. This was not just in response to racial incidents on campus, but in recognition of the role that educational institutions play in perpetuating racism, primarily in the lack of curricular focus on the subject of the racial inequity and systemic racism. The demands included core curriculum changes, adjustments to the racial incident reporting system, and a commitment to ensure that the college’s leadership and faculty would be more representative of the diversity of the student body. 

President Fareus’ leadership in GCSA was more extensive than the student space project and racial justice. Fareus provided mentorship to dozens of students, both inside and outside of Student Governement. Fareus was a key influencer in encouraging a new generation of student leaders to join GCSA, affecting future Student Governement administrations.  

Shineika’s service in GCSA began during her freshman year as a class Representative. She went on to serve as Vice President of Studnet Life under the Josh Grambow administration during her sophomore year. During her Junior year, she served as a Presidential Fellow in the Office of Student Life before launching her campaign for Student Body President in the Spring of 2020.

Fareus graduated from Gordon in May 2021 with her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Sociology. She also received a Master of Arts in Leadership.