Progression is imperative, otherwise one remains in the same place. Why do I want to be president? Because I want to inspire others to take on their world, as others have inspired me to take on mine.

My goal as your potential president is to make our Student Government Association more personable, approachable and transparent. This has indeed been a goal of SGA in the past, but unfortunately it has not been properly executed.

As president, if elected, I plan on changing the stigma attached to SGA, establishing a better community within the hilltop, increasing school spirit and creating a peer judicial board.

First, we cannot ignore the fact that SGA has not been in the best light for some time now. Ben Griffith and I plan on reviewing this past year’s performance, reflecting and implementing necessary changes within the organization. We want every branch within the organization to feel respected and heard.

We want to strive to make SGA more present to the students, instead of SGA expecting the student to come to them. We do not want SGA to hold the image of an elitist group of students. Instead we plan to take on the role of servant leadership.

Regarding the aspect of community, Ben and I believe that before we can build a community with the students, SGA as a whole must build a community first. As our community strengthens we would also like to better the community within organizations.

Once a month we hope to partner up with a different organization on campus. We will be helping them with fundraising, promoting or whatever it is they need from us. How can we know what these organizations need if we don’t ask?

Ben and I also believe that students should have a voice regarding student issues. This is why we would like to take on the task of creating a peer judicial board within our judicial branch.

We would like for students to take on the responsibility of handling student issues, such as students violating the code of student conduct. This board would create recommendations to the dean of students, and in essence give the students a voice on student concerns.

 Lastly, Ben and I strive to create a more spirited campus.

Students on the hilltop work extremely hard and they should not have to go off campus to seek a social life. Thus, we want to introduce tailgates and implement them into St. Edward’s traditions. We believe that tailgating for game days will increase the school spirit and social life of our campus.

For both Ben and I, it is not about the title, but having the opportunity to make progress within that title.

If we are not elected, we truly hope that our counterparts consider implementing our ideas in efforts to better our community.

At the end of the day, it is not about SGA, it is about all of us as a whole.