On Tuesday 
March 24 and Wednesday March 25 our Student Government Association (SGA) held elections for next year’s executive council. With approximately
150 students coming out to vote, this election was the first election in three years where there were two presidential candidates listed on the ballot. It was also the first time ever that SGA organized a presidential debate in the front circle for the candidates to take part in.
As an organization, SGA is dedicated towards making a difference on our campus. Vice President of Student Affairs Corey Humphries feels that SGA is important because, “it allowsa senate of students to address concerns of their fellow students and come up with solutions for those concerns.” Director of Student Life Melanie Lawrimore agrees with Mr. Humphries about the importance of SGA by adding that it gives students a voice and it brings insight into new ideas.
New ideas and change is exactly what every executive council candidate wanted to work towards and what they based their platforms on. On the ballot as options for president was sophomore communication arts major Caleb Britt and junior psychology major Demarcus Simmons. Both guys felt passionate about the opportunity that they had to be president and agreed on the fact that they wanted to create a stronger family atmosphere across our campus.
The one candidate for Vice President was sophomore political science major Allison Miller, and for treasurer freshman Christian studies major Nathan Gaydosik. Freshman business major Hannah Lambert also had no opponent within the election for secretary. For the two FAB director positions though, freshman political science major Ada Panni, freshman biology (pre-med) major Gracie Grant, and freshman psychology major Allison Rogers all ran. Each candidate served as a great leader and representation of our student body so the current executive council felt very confident in whatever decision the students made.
After all of the votes were tallied, the new executive council for the 2015-2016 school year was announced with Britt winning the position as president. Mr. Humphries described Britt as, “charismatic, determined, hard-working, and one of the biggest cheerleaders this university has.” Working alongside Britt next year will be Miller as Vice President, Gaydosik as treasurer, Lambert as secretary, and Panni and Grant as FAB directors.
Especially excited about his position as president, Britt feels honored and is looking forward to working with the executive council and next year’s senate as well. “Being elected into this position means so much to me because as a freshman I told myself that I wanted to be president after I visited the SGA booth at a campus life fair,” said Britt. “I served as vice president of SGA at my high school so being president in college is like a dream come true.”
Although Britt already seems like a natural, and has throughout the whole election process, he was not free of nerves and worries. Britt said, “I was very nervous throughout the election because Demarcus was a great candidate. We both had a vision, and we both had a backing. It was an either/or race.”
Now that the election is over, students, faculty, and staff members can be on the lookout for change to take place and for it to take place soon. Some of those changes will be seen sooner than expected as we are going to get new LED lights all around campus this summer, as well as a low ropes course on the S-curve.
With the fresh new ideas that each executive council member has and the diversity that each one brings to the table every student is sure to be represented. “We are all involved in different things so we all represent different groups on campus,” said Britt. “I am excited to serve in this position and I look forward to being able to work with the five other members of the executive council to impact the lives of our students.”
