West Liberty University’s (WLU) Student Government Association (SGA) elections for the 2022-2023 academic year were held on April 6, 2022. Six students ran for president and/or vice president. The students include Alexandria Black, Sydney Burkle, Matthew O’Neill, Cody Dixon-Rushman, Alexia Schmader and Kia Villers. All WLU students were eligible to vote in the election for the candidate of their choice.

All students who ran in the election have all been involved in leadership roles of some kind, whether that be in a club, fraternity or sorority. Students collaborated with each other to make sure the WLU community knew what their mission as president/vice president was and how they would make a difference on campus.

Alexandria Black is a sophomore sociology major and ran for SGA president. She has served as both the senator and the vice president of SGA and she briefly took over the president position months before the election. She is a part of the Beta Rho Epsilon sorority. On Black’s promotional Instagram account with Villers, smile_wlu, Black stated that throughout the time she has been serving as the president of SGA this semester, she has worked hard to create better relationships between faculty and students at WLU.

Sydney Burkle is a junior marketing major and was running for SGA president. She is a member and the previous president of the Alpha Xi Delta sorority. She also spent a year being their philanthropy vice president. Currently, she serves as the vice president of recruitment for the Panhellenic Council. The Instagram promotional account for Burkle and Dixon-Rushman’s campaign, vote_sydneyandcody, contained a post in which Burkle stated, “Leadership is important to me and so is making a change. I want to give all student groups a voice on campus while working to make the mission of student government more transparent as well. You all should know what is happening in SGA meetings.” Burkle noted she has used her past leadership roles to gain knowledge in fundraising and program planning, along with networking and collaborating with both campus administrators and community members.

Burkle also said, “SGA is the bridge between students and Shaw Hall and we feel that bettering the Student Government experience will make students feel more inclined to bring ideas and concerns into fruition so that we can make moves on those items. SGA is also a great way to enhance all clubs and organizations as we can provide funding for their events and programs.”

Alexia Schmader, one of the candidates who ran for SGA president, is a sophomore who is double majoring in music and elementary education and minoring in creative writing. She is currently the director of programming for SGA and is also a part of the steel band, marching band, wind symphony and flute choir. A post on the Instagram account for Schmader and O’Neill, votealexiaandmatt_wlyou, stated that Schmader believes that she was the best choice for SGA President because she loves this campus an wants to make it a better place.

Kia Villers, Blacks running mate, is a junior dental hygiene major and was running to be the vice president of SGA as Blacks running mate. She first transferred to WLU in the fall of 2020 and since then, she has served as a senator and programming committee member for SGA . She is a part of the Beta Rho Epsilon sorority and currently serves in the position of sisterhood chair.

Cody Dixon-Rushman, Burkle’s running mate, is a junior computer information systems and cyber security major and was running for SGA vice president. He is currently the warden, informant and fundraising chair of Beta Theta Gamma. He is also a member of the investment club and Phi Beta Lambda. In a post from vote_sydneyandcody, Dixon-Rushman stated, “One of my biggest accomplishments is helping Beta Theta Gamma grow and become more involved with Greek and student life after its transition into a co-ed Greek organization. I have been a member of SGA for four semesters and have served under two e-boards.” Dixon-Rushman also said if he were to be elected as the vice president of SGA, he would use his leadership skills and years of experience to help to give all students a say in campus affairs.

Matthew O’Neill, Schmader’s running mate, is a sophomore entrepreneurship major and was running to be the vice president of SGA. He is the current treasurer of SGA and the president of the Kappa Delta Kappa fraternity.

While the election results have yet to be announced, the Trumpet staff offers our congratulations to the new SGA president and vice president, whoever they might be; we wish you well throughout your journey.