Three nominees from the junior class are set to race for the Student Government presidential seat. The candidates are: nursing major and SG recording secretary, Samantha Schuler; pharmacy major and SG vice president, Kristofer Rivers; and accounting and business administration major, junior class president and Buffer Fund Committee Chair, John Sweeney.
All three have different outlooks on the position and have their own ideas of what they would like to do if chosen to become student body president.
Sweeney, who is running for the second consecutive year, believes it will be interesting to see the results of the race since this year there are three candidates when last year there was just two. To promote himself as a candidate, Sweeney has been hanging up posters and banners around campus while spreading his clear-cut mission statement.
“My platform is that I want to be president because Student Government is something I’ve been involved with my entire time here and it’s something that I really love,” Sweeney said. “I think we can do a better job connecting to the students and promoting our events.”
If chosen to be the next SG president, Sweeney would like to improve the connection between Student Government and the rest of the student body. He also plans to make SG representatives well known among their classmates. Sweeney believes if more students are aware of who their representatives are, they will be able to voice their opinions more easily and in turn, SG can be more effective.
Sweeney feels his previous experience running for the position will give him the upper hand in the campaign. With involvement that dates back to his freshman year, Sweeney believes he is well suited for the job mostly because he has always held leadership positions such as treasurer, and junior class president and vice president.
Sweeney’s main objective is to make things happen that students want to see.
According to Sweeney, his previous involvement has allowed him to form a good connection with students while becoming informed on what students deem important. This background has encouraged him to run for president again.
“I am trying again because I think that I would do a good job with the position,” Sweeney said. “I think my experience speaks for itself.”
Rivers has also been involved with Student Government for the past three years. He feels that becoming president would be a great chance for him to work with the school and the different people involved with the campus.
“I really would like to lead the group; I think that it’s a great honor and it’s also a great experience,” Rivers said. “It would be a great opportunity for me to give back to the university.”
Rivers’ primary aim is to improve student involvement on campus. Although he believes SG is already doing well as far as providing different activities, he feels there is always room to be better.
If chosen for the position, Rivers plans to create a wide variety of smaller events in order to increase student participation. He wants more people to attend Wilkes sporting events as well. By encouraging more students to take part, Rivers hopes that an improvement in school spirit will result.
Reaching out to people on campus and letting them know who he is, why he is running and what he plans to do as SG president, is Rivers’ campaign strategy. When asked why people should vote for him, Rivers said his personality gives him the edge that he needs.
“I think people should vote for me because of my personality and who I am,” Rivers said. “I’m always trying to be there for others and I’ll always try to help out others, I have a great dedication to this school, I have great school spirit, I’m proud to be a Colonel here and I feel that, that is one of the biggest requirements, to be proud of your university and proud of where you are.”
After serving SG as a class representative since her freshman year and working on the executive board for the past two years, Schuler is now aspiring to become the next president.
During the campaigning period, Schuler plans to promote herself by reaching all types of students that make up the Wilkes population. Schuler will bridge across major, athletic team and class, to not only endorse herself as a candidate, but to also encourage students to cast their vote. This strategy, Schuler believes, will set her apart from the other two nominees.
If chosen to be the next president, Schuler would like to spread school spirit while improving activities for students. She also hopes to inform more people of what SG actually does for the university.
“It’s not just sitting in a room deciding what we are going to spend money on, it’s so much more than that,” she said. “After walking around and asking people to sign my (nomination) petition, I also realized most people do not know we have a student government.”
Schuler would also like to improve the atmosphere of weekly meetings for both SG members and groups that are presenting. She anticipates that more students will then attend the meetings and feel comfortable offering their opinions and sharing their concerns.
Her ability to look at things differently is why Schuler believes she is best fit for the job.
“I am more open minded than most, I kind of like an idea (and say) ‘hey this is something new, let’s give it a try’ if it works it works, if it doesn’t, at least we tried,” she said.
SG would like to remind their fellow students that voting will take place April 18-19; they encourage everyone to vote for the candidate they believe is best fit for the presidential position. Since SG’s purpose is to interpret the voice of the student body, the power of change lies within each individual student.
“Student government is one of the organizations that definitely has the power to bring change on campus,” Sweeney said.