Joseph, Collins win SGA election

SGA President and Vice President 2013Dudley Joseph and Alyssa Collins won the Student Government Association (SGA) election with 52.1 percent of the total votes rightfully holding the majority of the votes in the run-off election against Robbie Jones and Brooks Robinson.

The initial SGA elections were held April 9-10. The results were close, but no one ticket achieved a simple majority of total votes out of the 774 votes, therefore, causing the need for a run off election between the two parties with the most. The run off elections were held April 17.

“This campaign season appeared to be full of students who stayed connected to their campaign platforms and left conflict out of the equation,” said Chris Kandus-Fisher, vice president for Student Affairs and dean of students. “I believe that this happened due to the high level of respect that each candidate had for each other.”

SGA, a commonly unsung hero on campus, plays a crucial role for the voice of the student body. Joseph and Collins stood on the campaign of diversity and advocacy, with a broad understanding for the students’ wants and needs.

“We really think our voters realized that we are genuine candidates that are motivated and ready to make a visible difference on this campus through SGA,” Joseph and Collins explained. “Everything we did for the most part was colorful and fun, just like us. We wanted to show that we love what do and have fun doing it.” They put the Stetson community as a first priority in their campaign advocating for students. Through their stances on topics such as tuition, vibrancy, implementation and inclusivity they show their dedication to the student body’s voice, advocating for students.

“SGA has a wonderful purpose, and that is to tell those making decisions about our campus what we, the students, want,” Joseph and Collins said, adding that they want to make a bridge between administration and students as well as students and SGA. They want their to be more positive attitudes towards SGA, showing Stetson that SGA is here essentially for the good of the students and the Stetson community.

“We hope to improve communication with the students. We are going to do this by hosting events regularly where we actively engage in conversation,” said Joseph and Collins. “We will also have a representative at organization meetings regularly. We want to work closer with organizations so that their events are better known and so we can diversify representation within the organization. We want to see a more positive attitude toward SGA. We want students to know more about what we do and for senators to know their hard work is being implemented. We want to do more co-sponsorship and utilize our resources better.”

“I don’t pretend to know all of the answers when it comes to the student body, but I expect student leaders to help provide partnership and direction in the creation of the student experience,” said Kandus-Fisher. “SGA should and will play the role of being the voice of the student body.”

by Lauren Robbins