Special Coverage: SGA executive election
Elections for the next officials of Student Government Association (SGA) will be held this Wednesday and Thursday through a link made available to all current USC Aiken student email addresses.
The executive members of SGA include the president, vice president, secretary and treasurer, who lead the senate in making decisions relating to student affairs. The current cabinet is made up of President Brandon Eberl, Vice President Mason Spires, Secretary Q’Ladrin Qourters and Treasurer R.J. Strauss.
Those running for president in the 2019-2020 election are current SGA secretary, Q’Ladrin Qourters, and Samuel Boyd, the current College of Humanities senator.
In her new platform, Q’Ladrin Qourters said that her goal as president will be to give back to students and make the campus better for students.
“I want to continue to be a representation of the university,” she continued. “I believe I hold the qualities a good leader would embody, and I want to exercise those …”
Similarly, Samuel Boyd said that he sees the SGA presidency not just as “a badge of honor,” but rather as a serious position that he will use to represent the needs of USCA students.
“I’ll be the mascot with the megaphone, making things fun, shouting your thoughts, and representing USCA pride,” he wrote in his platform.
Q’May Qourters, the twin sister of Q’Ladrin Qourters, is running for the vice president position alongside her sister. She said that she applied for the position to “become more involved on campus and be closer to the student body.
“I want to assist the President of SGA with the bright future of USCA,” she wrote in her email application. She continued, mentioning her previous experience with student leadership includes the VP position of the Resident Student Association (RSA), stating that she would like to “move forward and become Vice President of SGA.”
As running mates in this election, their campaign slogan is “You wanted change, so we gave you Qourters.”
Her opponent Trey Williams is also concerned with on-campus involvement. He stated in his application that this was his purpose in joining SGA last year when he was elected to the Resident Life Senator position, but should he be elected to the VP position, his first concern would be showing students that they are “more than welcomed [sic] to voice their opinion …”
“My main goal is to make every student feel welcomed,” said Williams, who has publicly aligned himself with presidential hopeful, Sam Boyd. Their slogan is “Strong advocates for you.”
Running for treasurer are Peyton Faugl and Taylor Drennen, who both have previous experience in finance.
Faugl is a political science major with a minor in business, while Drennen- an early childhood education major- is the treasurer of Phi Mu and the financial manager of her mother’s business. Drennen said that if she is elected, SGA’s finances “would be in very good hands.”
“I think that this association is the most important one on campus,” she continued, “since it is the only platform that students can truly express their opinions and wishes and be heard by the student body.”
Faugl also believes that his election to the treasurer position “could greatly benefit the SGA and student body as a whole,” due to his previous work experience and “dealing with vast amounts of money on a daily basis …”
“I’d love to see SGA continue to be able to fund different groups and organization [sic] on campus,” he said, “as well as continue to host great events for the student body while being fiscally responsible.”
Finally, running unopposed for the secretary position is Zachary Dabbs, who said that he wants to be elected to the executive senate in order to develop his skills.
“ … I’d love to use all my experiences in a positive light to empathize with every student I can, advocate for them all, and use it to drive myself in everything I do for SGA,” he said, continuing to specify that he especially hopes to “elevate USCA and everyone in it …”
