By Jalyn Bolyard, Online Editor
West Liberty University’s Student Government Association held elections for the president and vice president, along with senate members, on Wednesday, April 25. Zach Rhodes and Anna Malone were elected as president and vice president, respectively.
The two were sworn in on April 26 at the Honors Convocation.
“My goals as SGA President next year will be to continue this past year’s executive board’s progress in providing more activities for students and attempting to find solutions for issues that students have with academics, campus life, and just the overall campus experience,” said Rhodes, “I would like for more students to know what it is that the Student Government Association does, and how they can get involved.”
He hopes to increase interactivity with social media to hear more feedback from students and to let students know of SGA events. SGA currently has a Twitter @SGA_WLU.
“My personal goal is to connect with as many students as possible and hear their opinions and ideas! Zach and I were elected to represent the student body, and it’s my goal to bring positive changes to the West Liberty experience based on what students want to see,” said Malone.
Rhodes said his main focus as president will be solving issues on campus, “This is something that SGA started looking at this year, and there were several issues that came up in multiple conversations. Next year, I would like to take those concerns and work with the administration to make changes based on them. While there are many things that can be pointed out that make West Liberty a great place, there are also areas where students would like to see improvements.”
SGA holds meetings every Tuesday at 9 p.m. in the Alumni Room. Students are encouraged to attend, regardless if they are a part of SGA or not, to voice any concerns they have. Even if a student doesn’t have a comment, they can still attend to hear about events on campus.
“I would love students to know that their opinions and ideas are what make this campus great! We as student government are here to represent them, and no idea is too big or too small to bring to a senator or one of our meetings,” said Malone.
“I would like all West Liberty students to know that SGA is more than just a source of funding for clubs and organizations,” said Rhodes. “We want to be an organization that listens to our fellow students, whether they have positive or negative feedback for us. If a student has an issue that they have heard others talking about, come to us and let us hear it.”
Both Rhodes and Malone have been active in SGA for years and are confident in their ability to lead alongside their senators.
Student senators elected include Emily Bender, Mackenzie Boone, Kylee Carcione, Zach Conner, Taylor Curry, Hannah Lynch, Andrew Mehler, Natasha Muhametzyanova, Hunter Norris, Dylan Parsons, Trevor Piccone, Walker Polivka, Mackenzie Rossi, Yijing Shen, Desire VanCuren, Cody Waggoner, Isabella Yakicic and Carrie Yost.
According to a news release, other officers for the upcoming year include Bryan Congo as treasurer, Taylor Curry as secretary, and Hunter Norris as director of programming.
If anyone has questions or comments for SGA, feel free to email Rhodes at [email protected] or Malone at [email protected].
Photo credit: Media Relations
