Student Government holds debate ahead of elections

During common hour March 30, Student Government Association (SGA) hosted a debate between the 2022-23 candidates for SGA president, vice president and treasurer.

Joel Philpott and Luke Collins are running for SGA president, Natalie Augustyn and Sophie Machen are running for vice president, and Heather Hoffman and Tyrell Gilwater are running for treasurer. Each candidate is running as part of The SEMO Experience or Ignite Innovation campaigns.

Current SGA president Layla Bouzihay and vice president Nolan Knupp asked the candidates questions based on the position each was running for. They were given one minute to respond, and the opposing campaign's candidate was given the opportunity for a 30-second rebuttal.

Some of the questions included prior experience, as well as their plans for communication across the Southeast community and with SGA, specifically.

One question asked of The SEMO Experience presidential candidate Collins was how he would handle conflict between what the students wanted and what school administration felt was necessary.

“I think there’s three steps to this process,” Collins said. “That is persistence, patience and relationships. The first step is to make it clear to administration that the students would disagree. If we stay silent, we don’t disagree, the university will continue and pretend like it never happened.”

Philpott, presidential candidate of Ignite Innovation, used the opportunity to rebut Collins' answer, prior to giving his own answer to the question.

“I think it’s not only important to help brainstorm with administration, but also to help these students understand why these decisions are made,” Philpott said.

Current SGA president Layla Bouzihay [left] and vice president Nolan Knupp ask the 2022-23 SGA candidates questions at the debate on March 30.Photo by Alyssa Lunsford

In his answer to the question of handling conflict between students and administration, Philpott said he would get as much feedback from different students and student groups on campus, before speaking with campus administration. Philpott also said how he’d collect data on the topic, how it was handled in the past and why it’s happening now, among other factors.

The vice presidential candidates were asked how they planned to stay impartial and not sway senators’ opinions when it came to weekly senate meetings. Machen, of The SEMO Experience, was the first to give her answer.

“I strongly believe that senators are those who have the final say in decisions,” Machen said. “Whether I personally agree with them or not, the executive committee have their weekly meetings where opinions at that time can be shared.”

Augustyn, vice presidential candidate of Ignite Innovation, then gave her response.

“It’s [senators’] opinions to form and their opinions that matter,” Augustyn said. “I would also like to serve as the advocate to hearing these voices. While I am there leading senate, it’s important to hear what they have to say and just be there to clarify conversation.”

Hoffman, treasurer candidate of Ignite Innovation, explained changes she would make for the following school year on informing students of funding opportunities SGA offers.

“One of my ideas that I want to implement is having funding workshops multiple times throughout the year,” Hoffman said. “In those workshops … I would start off with an overview of what the funding process looks like, what the difference in applying to the three different accounts is like … and kind of the timeline that you can expect with funding.”

Gilwater, treasurer candidate of The SEMO Experience, said he wants to make information about funding as public as possible.

“As we all know, there is a COVID-19 relief fund website. One of my ideas is making use of sites like that,” Gilwater said. “My goal is to make sure that there’s funding and financial reporting, open communication between SGA and the student body. The most effective way is to make sure to make use of the website and list all the procedures.”

Voting for SGA executive board positions takes place April 6 and 7, prior to the results being announced April 8 at Noon on the third floor of the University Center. SGA will begin posting a QR code for voting to their social media on Friday, April 1.

More information about both campaigns can be found on Instagram under Ignite Innovation or The SEMO Experience. To watch the Arrow’s livestream of the debate, click here.