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Longwood University student body has elected the next generation of Student Government Association (SGA) leadership. Polls closed on Sunday, March 30, with results released to the student body on Wednesday, March 2. The installation of the 2014-2015 Executive Board, Honor Board and Conduct Board chairs will take place on Monday, April 22 at 5 p.m. on the Lankford Student Union steps.
The executive board candidates ran unopposed. The student body elected Joseph Gills as president, Adam Fletcher as vice president, Jessica Darst as treasurer, Jacob Harvey as secretary and Ellen Kensy as historian.
As president, Gills said parking, clubs and organizations are two items that senators have discussed in SGA and are on his agenda for the next year. Gills would like to “facilitate more opportunities for students to get involved in clubs or organizations.”
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I really want to work on the organization of clubs and other organizations on campus,” Gills added, citing the club and organization budgeting process as one aspect he would like to improve. This semester, Gills introduced a more streamlined Student Finance Committee (SFC) form to the Senate. He said there have been talks of moving the budgeting process to CollegiateLink. He said while he believes it is currently a “pretty good process,” the SGA can “always improve things.”
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ills would also like to work more with Conduct Board and Honor Board on evaluating recurring student conduct and honor violations and discovering solutions to these issues. He said he could also speak with different offices on campus in order to address these concerns.
Overall, Gills wants to ensure that the SGA is “always there as an avenue for students to voice their concerns.”
Haley Vest, who has served as the 2013-2014 SGA president, said she is “relieved to be leaving the SGA in such great hands - this will be an incredibly strong and cohesive Executive group.”
Regarding Gill’s presidency, Vest added, “Joe [Gills] has shown serious interest and concern in the issues that really matter to students, like tuition, fees and fairness regarding student clubs and organizations. He has also worked extensively with the school administration which will serve him well when it comes to making real change on behalf of students here.”
Vest also commended Darst and Fletcher, whom she said “served as Executive Senators this past year and showed the vision and leadership necessary to get things done.”
While Harvey and Kensy were new senators this year, Vest said both “really stood out with their enthusiasm and dedication to SGA.”
As for the election results for the entire Senate, the 2014-2015 senior class officers are Paige Rollins as president, Joey Siverd as vice president and Erin Hessler as senior treasurer.
The next junior class officers are Gabrielle Spain as president, Erin Stuck as president and Channe Trowell as treasurer. The elected sophomore class officers are Connor Wheeler as president, Cody Hanshew as vice president, Tyler Morris as treasurer and Noah Lovelady as secretary.
The 2014-2015 senators are Natalie Joseph, Victoria Walker, Allison Dougherty, Joey Siverd, Ryan Carey, Leighan Worden, Joseph Burns, Cody Hanshew, Monte Harrison, Justin Parker, Katelyn Walker, Constance Garner, Cheslea Carroll and Tyler Morris.
Jordan McWilliams will continue his role as Conduct Board chair for the 2014-2015 academic year. As for the rest of the Conduct Board justices, the student body elected Amanda Miller, Cassandra LaFonte, Logan Stigall, Lindsay Cox, Taylor Woody, Carly Westbrook, Kelli Bannon. Jacob Flippo Hicks, Constance Garner, Shannon Clark, Lindsay McGibbon, Alexis Kiriakos, Hannah Henry, Allison Meier, Sarah Brown, Chelsea Carroll, John “Archer” Minor, Jason Dryer, Sierra Osler, Tyler Harper, Lindsay Wilmoth, Haley Talmage, Lilly Payne, Nicholas J Rynard, Amanda Chappell, Jeffrey Taylor, Danielle Driscoll, Bridget Hoopes, Osten Morris, Joseph Michael Enrico and Erica Tedder.
Logan Stigall will serve as the Honor Board chair. Amanda Padgett, Sydbey Gaver, Nicole Brown, Maggie Marshall, Jessica Wagner, Erin Stuck, Lily Payne and Erica Tedder are the 2014-2015 Honor Board justices.
The majority of the student body voted to ratify of the constitutional amendments the SGA approved at a previous meeting.
Regarding the new Senate, Vest said, “I hope that work will continue to be done to get the word out about SGA. Many students still don’t really know what we do and how we can be a resource for them. I would also like to see a more diverse student groups getting involved with SGA so that we are able to better represent the entire campus.”
Vest commended the work of the 2013-2014 senators, particularly with the senators’ partnership with Virginia21 and TurboVote that helped achieve more student election registration than ever this November. Vest said the Senate also networked with other Virginia university student governments and would like to see these connections “allow the next SGA to set a state-wide agenda and be able to work with other schools to learn and co-sponsor events that may benefit our students.”
In the coming years, Vest hopes that the SGA will “continue to tackle larger-scale student issues beyond Longwood, and also continue to strive to support diversity on our campus.”
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