SGA Elections opened April 1 for the upcoming semester.

The election determines the executive board, which includes the president, executive vice president, vice president of operations and vice president of finances. Other positions being elected include class presidents and class vice presidents.

Candidates and positions they are running for are as follows, with some candidates running unopposed:

• President: Phoenix Vu 
• Executive Vice President: Kylie McGraw and Brad Lewis 
• Vice President of Operations: Gabby Stokes and Lulu Quebedeaux 
• Vice President of Finances: Molly Austin
• Sophomore President: Talia Burton
• Sophomore Vice President: Banks Austin 
• Junior President: Lyric Williams 
• Junior Vice President: Emily Taylor 
• Senior President: Hannah Grace Fritz 
• Senior Vice President: Hannah Andrews and Glenn McNutt

Executive Vice President candidate Brad Lewis currently serves as the vice president of operations and hopes to heighten fiscal awareness and effectiveness..

“The biggest things I’m looking into to implement when I win, are creating a fiscally aware senate. Student enrollment is going down, and that means SGA will get less money every year. Senate needs to be aware of not only the cost but also the opportunity cost to spend money on certain projects. I would also like to change the structure of the retreat SGA goes on to make it more fiscally sound and less burdensome on senators. The current EVP has already started this process and I would love to keep that going for the health of everyone involved,” he said.

Lewis was inspired to run because of his work as Vice President of Operations, which gave him firsthand experience in creating change on campus.

“What made me want to run is really to be able to make a difference for our campus. I’ve spent a year on exec already and I’ve taken the opportunity to learn how things work around the campus so I have the knowledge to be able to go out and make those big campus changes,” he said.

Kylie McGraw, the opposing candidate for executive vice president, currently serves as sophomore vice president and the chairman for the SGA Diversity Committee. McGraw’s campaign focuses on student success and engagement.

“For my campaign, I’ve chosen the word envision to be my word of affirmation in succeeding this position. Why? You might ask, because I want students on campus to know that I indeed do have a vision for the next school year as SGA’s Executive Vice President … My three major components to this vision include Administrative Collaboration, Student Success, and Student Organization Collaboration. Overall, my goal is to represent the best interests of our student body and ensure that all voices are being heard in decision-making,” she said.

Student success to McGraw includes support and resources to students through integrative activities and events, she said.

“Student success means providing students with the necessary resources and support they need to thrive academically and to flourish after college. My vision is to organize joint events sponsored by the Student Government Association to promote student success beyond graduation and enhance academic accomplishments. For administrative collaboration, I envision annual senate meetings with the Council of Deans to address campus strengths and weaknesses, informing the student body. Lastly, I envision collaborations among RSOs on campus by encouraging the committees of the Student Government Association to collaborate with other organizations, enriching the student experience,” McGraw said.

SGA is a student-governed organization, so all students have a voice in the election process. 

“Go out and vote April 1-5. SGA gets to see and hear a lot of important issues from campus and RSOs, so it’s vital to show civic engagement and put people in positions that will work for campus,” Lewis said.

Last year’s election saw an 85% decrease in voting turnout, with only 180 students casting a ballot compared to 1,204 students who voted in the 2022-2023 school year election.

Voting ends April 5 and votes are submitted through CubConnect.