(Photo: Claire McKenna) WHO WILL YOU CHOOSE? SGA presidential candidates Grace Merrill (left) and Jesuri Vazquez participate in a candidate town hall on March 24.
Photo // Claire McKenna WHO WILL YOU CHOOSE? SGA presidential candidates Grace Merrill (left) and Jesuri Vazquez participate in a candidate town hall on March 24.
By: Claire McKenna
Staff-Writer
Elections for next year’s Student Government Association are open today, March 25, through March 27. Candidates vie for executive positions as well as senate seats – but who’s in the running?
On March 24, the SGA hosted town halls for the vice presidential candidates, Jack Lane and Robin Weaver, and presidential candidates, Grace Merrill and Jesuri Vazquez. The candidates, all of whom are current senators in the SGA, were asked four questions that they had prepared answers for, then audience members were encouraged to ask questions. The town hall ended with closing statements from each candidate.
Through the prepared questions, candidates shared about their beliefs and goals for the future of SGA. Jack Laney talked about transparency within SGA and to the student body, fostering an emotionally safe community in SGA and continuing to monitor and work with the organization’s imperfect constitution.
He said he will use his previous skills from SGA and his skills from being a nursing student to help teamwork thrive and have confidence within himself. He also said he will work with Creative Dining Services to cater to more student dietary needs and help with the Open Education Resources initiative to help students access affordable textbooks and materials.
“Being in the Vice President role can help me hone in my skills in terms of advocacy,” Laney said in his closing statement. “I can push health care advocacy initiatives on campus. But it doesn’t have to be just for health care, I do know how to advocate for people.”
Robin Weaver talked about clear communication and boundaries between colleagues, understanding work-life balance and keeping an open-door policy for the vice president’s office as well as for other leaders to encourage smooth conflict resolution. Weaver said they will use their skills from their position as Queer Straight Alliance president and build connections with administration to continue to strive for professionalism in their work.
Senator Weaver said they will also continue working with the Safety and Wellness committee to make sure students feel safe on campus and know what resources are available to them.
“One thing I have been super passionate about this entire time is student advocacy,” Weaver said in their closing statement. “I wanted to work more with people on campus, which has honestly been the most exciting thing about SGA.”
Presidential candidate Grace Merrill said she plans on working with the administration and faculty to make sure student voices are heard, creating a safe space for people to voice their opinion and leaning on each other when getting work done but making sure that others are held accountable.
Senator Merrill said she will use her organizational skills and learn from others to improve her own work. As current chair of the Safety and Wellness Committee, she said she wants to ensure that the student body’s voice is heard and that she will do so by implementing new policies that are needed and working closely with student organizations.
“I want to be more involved on campus and really be able to make a difference when it comes to making new policies for the student body,” Merrill said.
Merrill’s opponent Jesuri Vazquez said she plans on actively engaging with students through initiatives, working on creating an inclusive campus environment and communicating with the other IU campuses to make sure that IU South Bend is a present community.
Senator Vazquez said she has had the opportunity to shadow Chloe Garner, current SGA president, in Garner’s talks with other campuses and administrators, which Vazquez said gives her an idea of how to communicate needs to those in positions of authority. Vazquez said she wants to make sure that she is a known figure so people can come to her and trust that she can help them.
“After being with SGA for so long, I believe that I want to gain from my experiences, but I also want to be put in the position where I can be looked up to and I am prepared to be put in that position,” Vazquez said.
If you missed the town hall, you can watch the recorded livestream on the SGA’s Instagram page @iusb_sga.
To vote, visit Titan Atlas and use the link on the homepage through March 27 at 5 p.m. Results will be announced April 4.