With the passing of the recent elections, the Saint Leo campus is preparing to welcome a new set of faces to its SGU E-Board. But just how familiar are students with these candidates and what they stand for or against? How does one become informed enough to make the right decision to vote for someone who may become your future E-Board President?
On Feb. 12 from 6-8 p.m., Pi Sigma Alpha, the Political National Honor Society, and the Student Government Union uniformly hosted the 2018-2019 E-Board Candidate Forum, an event that further informed the Saint Leo student body about their potential candidates for the 2018-2019 Student E-Board positions.
Held in the boardrooms, this event gave the candidates of all five positions the opportunity to express how previous experience could help them be an exceptional leader in their new potential position, how their unique qualities could reinforce their ability to do their job well, and what their goals and expectations were for the upcoming school year, if elected.
The E-Board itself consists of five united members, all in charge of different aspects of the Student Government Union. The Vice President of Communication Management’s job is to manage all social media and record minutes at all SGU meetings. The Vice President of Activities is in charge of overseeing CAB, the Campus Activities Board, and planning events for SGU. The Vice President of Finance handles the SGU budget and allocates funds to the different clubs and organizations on campus. The Vice President of Operations is responsible for overseeing Senate and Leadership conferences. Lastly, the President has the essential task of overseeing and managing the Student Government Union and all of its functions and responsibilities.
Running for the Vice President of Communication Management position was Juliette Stratis, Melissa Opie, and Selena Giordano. Running for Vice President of Activities was Aliceison Brown, Skylar Heyward, Vincent Toner, Jessica Weaver, and Shantae Whyte. Running for the position of Vice President of Finance was Kristina Niccolls, Melanie Ramos, Déjoun Redden, and Antonia Spinella. Running for Vice President of Operations was Celine-Deon Palmer, Kira Parisi, Quiwanaki Ramsey, and Kenneth Wybieracki. Finally, running for the Presidency was Derick McIntosh and Morgan Wagner.
The elected candidates for next year’s term would have to closely work together toward enhancing the student experience on campus by creating and hosting activities, proposing and passing legislation, budgeting and allocating money to clubs and organizations to develop leadership opportunities, and satisfying all other needs that students may have.
Rose Foley, Secretary of Pi Sigma Alpha and a member of Senate, was extremely pleased with the outcome of this event.
“It went really well, and everyone there left with so much information about the candidates,” she exclaimed.
Foley is optimistic about hosting this same event in the future in hopes of informing the student body and making the election “less of a popularity contest” and more of a vote based on candidate’s experience and performance.
On Feb. 14, the winners of the E-board elections were announced, the suspenseful moment that everyone was so desperately waiting for.
Congratulations to the 2018-2019 Student Government Union Executive Board, President, Derick McIntosh, V.P. of Operations, Celine-Deon Palmer, V.P. of Finance, Kristina Niccolls, V.P. of Activities, Stanley ‘Kane” Klimczak, and V.P. of Communication Management, Juliette Stratis. Best of luck to our future leaders!
