Blake Humphrey, left, and Shannon Smith, right.
The campaign for West Virginia University student body president and vice president ended Friday evening as the Student Government Association Judicial Board announced Blake Humphrey and Shannon Smith as president and vice president, respectively, for the 2017-18 academic year.
Humphrey, a senior economics and political science major from Wheeling, and Smith, a junior strategic communications major with an emphasis in public relations from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, led the unopposed winning ticket known as Let’s Talk WVU.
“‘Let’s talk’ is the motto that will continue to guide our party,” said Humphrey. “We strongly believe proactive, engaged listening will result in more effective leadership and tangible solutions to the problems on campus. We also believe student stories, ideas and activism define the heart and soul of our University.”
The team spoke with more than 9,000 students during the signature process. Candidates running for president or vice president must receive 1,000 student signatures in order to run, while senators need 500. Topics of conversation included the party’s main platforms: issues surrounding academic advising, the PRT and other transportation on campus, diversity, mental and sexual health, and SGA election reform.
“More than ever, it is important for every student to know that their ideas, voice, and service to our University matters,” Humphrey said. “Whether it was the students who we talked to during signatures, the thousands of impressions we had on social media, or the conversations we had on campus, it's clear that students want leaders who will lead by listening, and take bold, strong actions on behalf of them."
The election was held at various locations across campus Wednesday and Thursday (March 22 and 23). The winners were announced Friday (March 24) in the Mountainlair.
"Blake and I are blessed to have the opportunity to keep the conversations going over the course of the next year along with the help of the incredible, diverse student leaders who were selected to the student senate," said Smith. "This is only the beginning; the hard work, choices and actions are yet to come. I am confident that we will continue to do the right things, for the right reasons, and the right things will happen for our University."
The Student Government Association consists of a president, vice president, 13 student senators and two athletic senators.
The 13 students elected to the SGA student senate are all members of the Let’s Talk Party with the exception of one write-in candidate: Lujain Alotaibi, a freshman political sciences major from Khobar City, Saudi Arabia; Mason Arbogast, a freshman biochemistry and write-in candidate from Weston; Ethan Ball, a junior entrepreneurship and innovation major and member of the Honors College from Princeton; Tyler Brewster, a sophomore political science major from Martinsburg; Shan Cawley, a freshman secondary education major from Weirton; Paraag Gupta, a sophomore biomedical engineering major minoring in computer science and member of the Honors College from Weirton; Miquel Henriquez, a junior physics major minoring in philosophy and member of the Honors College from Bridgeport; Teresa Hoang, a freshman industrial engineering major and member of the Honors College from Huntington; Cora King, a freshman hospitality and tourism management major from Hurricane; Brenna Leasor, a junior psychology major from Morgantown; Aishwarya Vijay, a sophomore biomedical engineering major and member of the Honors College from Morgantown; Karley White, an industrial engineering and leadership studies major form Annapolis, Maryland; and Seth Underwood, a sophomore energy land management major from Parsons.
Abundance Hunt, a sophomore exercise physiology major from Lewisburg; and Brent Osborne, a sophomore business management major from Beckley, were elected athletic senators.
"Low voter turnout in SGA elections has become a common problem on college campuses,” said Humphrey. “We are committed to solving this issue by continuing our conversations with students. We plan to explore student apathy, how to decrease students’ financial barriers to running for election; and create a secure, online voting system that will give more students better accessibility.”
“We spent notably less on our campaign than past SGA candidates, he added. The $800 we spent didn’t even come close to reaching this year’s election spending cap.”
The inauguration of the 2017-18 Student Government Association will be held in the Grand Hall of the Museum Education Center April 2. The event will also recognize other student leaders and celebrate the work the 2016-17 government has done during its reign. The newly-elected group will take over following the inauguration.
For more information on the Let’s Talk WVU Party, visit www.letstalkwvu.com.
-WVU-
ta/3/24/17
Contact: Jason
Broadwater, Student Life Communications
304.293.5811; jason.broadwater@mail.wvu.edu
Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.