While the nation is voting for the Presidential Primaries, Samford is preparing to hold SGA elections for this upcoming school year.
Each year in March, the Samford Student Government holds elections for a few of its positions to prepare for the upcoming school year.
Some positions are SGA-appointed roles such as Chief of Staff; however, president and vice president of SGA, vice president of events and a new vice president of campus relations position are voted on by the entire student population.
James Jefferson, current SGA President, spoke on the addition of the new officer role.
“All of the positions within SGA, we’re all committed to serving students well, and all committed to make sure we are engaging campus,” said Jefferson. “But we don’t have a position that does that.”
“How can we meet people where they are and how can we make sure that we are representing all fronts of campus?”
Specific positions such as class officers are voted for by those in the class and senate officers for schools are voted for by those registered apart of the different schools. The process for elections begins in February when interest meetings are held for prospective candidates and initial applications are due.
March is when campaigning begins for candidates, with candidates running on social media and placing flyers and signs around campus to gain votes.
On Thursday, March 14th, SGA hosted a Spring Election Meet & Greet in Harry’s. Candidates for various positions had opportunities to introduce themselves and tell a bit about their campaign.
Three of the positions – president, vice president and vice president of events – are uncontested positions with only one person running for each role, meaning all three are guaranteed the positions next year.
Jefferson will be returning to the role again, making it three years in elected positions for him, as he was also the vice president for the 2022-2023 school year and freshman class president the year prior.
Grace Lyons will be stepping into the vice president role. Last year, Lyons served as the Co-Chair of the Code of Laws Committee.
Linden Cundiff will be stepping into the vice president of events role. She has served as Chair of the Code of Laws Committee and as Chair of Christmas Village on the Student Activities Council.
The new position of vice president of campus relations is more contested, as three people are vying to be the inaugural officer.
Junior Ethan Henshaw is the current junior class president and has served on the class council his sophomore and freshman years as well. Freshman Holden Keel has served as the freshman class treasure and is involved with the Sports Admin Association. Junior Kennedy Russe is a member of the Multicultural Affairs Committee and served as chair of Spring Fest for the Student Activities Council.
The results for the election were posted on Tuesday, March 19, via email to the student population. The results, however, had one surprise with a runoff election for the vice president for campus relations positions between Kennedy Russel and Ethan Henshaw.
The runoff election took place the next day on March 20, which was won by Ethan Henshaw, who will be the inaugural vice president for campus relations.
Applications for SGA appointed positions are opened to students and close on March 28th.
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