Students back on the ballot: Student Senator runs for Ohio State House of Reps.

Ohio University Student Senator Rhyan Goodman is running against State Rep. Jay Edwards, a Republican from Nelsonville, for Ohio House District 94 in the November election. 

Edwards was set to run uncontested until Goodman filed just before the Feb. 2 deadline. The Ohio U alum and the current Bobcat will face off this November to represent Ohio House District 94, comprising Athens, Meigs, Vinton and part of Washington counties.

If elected, 19-year-old Goodman would be one of the youngest state legislators in Ohio’s history, as previously reported by the Athens NEWS. 

Raised in rural Ohio, Goodman is in his second year student studying business administration at the Ohio U Honors Tutorial College as a Cutler Scholar with a focus on business ethics, pre-law and corporate responsibility. Goodman serves on Ohio U’s Student Senate and is chairman of the budget committee. Goodman is also the executive chair of the Center of Student Legal Services. 

Goodman spends his time working with the Wood County Society out of West Virginia, which works to “empower communities to unite together to ensure all youth and adults with disabilities are recognized for their abilities,” according to its website. 

“(The Wood County Society is) really inspiring, so I'm trying to help them expand their services to a lot more counties in Ohio,” Goodman said in an interview. 

Goodman shared that as a first generation college student from a low income family “my goal in life is to make the world a better place.”

While Goodman said the campaign process has not been easy, he states it is vital that the youth have a voice in politics on all levels. Although he has a long road ahead, Goodman expresses hope. 

“I'm excited to start putting a team together and getting out the vote and reaching out to people who are often left out in these situations,” Goodman said. “Any ways that I can make a difference and make our communities better places is what I'm looking forward to.

Goodman has reached out to both Ohio U College Democrats and Athens County Democratic Party for guidance and resources to get his campaign kicked off. 

“We're very excited to have Rhyan Goodman running,” Lauren Dikis, a spokesperson for the Athens County Democratic Party, said. “He really understands the challenges we face in our region. And we'll be definitely (working to help him) win so that the district can have better representation.”

Goodman mentioned one of Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People as his guiding principle throughout his campaign: seek first to understand, then to be understood.

“I really want to listen to what people are concerned about, to advocate for them,” Goodman said. 

Goodman said transparency and availability are two of the main driving points of his campaign. 

“I've contacted Representative Edwards 12 times and I've never once received a response,” Goodman said, claiming he invited Edwards to speak at a Student Senate event and received no response. 

Edwards also did not respond for comment on this story. 

“Columbus has turned its back on us again and again. And I think he could be a much needed voice at the statehouse, standing up for the 94th district,” Dikis said. 

Goodman also plans to maintain the title of “student politician” and continue classes at Ohio U while serving in office if elected. 

“Throughout our life people can try to attack us, demean us, or bring us down and they can try to take whatever they want from us, but nobody can ever take what you learned,” Goodman stated.

Goodman noted that while he hopes to represent the 94th District at the Statehouse in Columbus, he wants to remain tied to the community that he is representing. 

“I think that that's a great way to show other people, that when you elect everyday people to office, that their lives can still continue and that it's not something that you sign your life away for,” Goodman said. “You leave your community to go up to Columbus and do whatever you're there to do. But I think it's important that we keep our roots to our areas, making sure that we're continuing to learn whatever we can.”

Goodman encourages more young people to take on the challenge of running for office. 

“If nobody's willing to fight for us, then why care? I think that we should step up and do it,” Goodman said.

“I'm not here for the politics,” Goodman said. “I'm here for the policy.”