Members of Spark and incoming senators took their oaths and set their vision for the year ahead during the Student Government Association’s inaugural ceremony Wednesday afternoon.
The ceremony did not go without tears and reflection from the past slate as they looked back on their 399 days in office.
“The way I’d like to look at my experience with SGA is it’s been like a TV show,” said Chris Wilkey, now former president of SGA.
Wilkey compared his executive board to the cast of the show Duck Dynasty.
“They’re always doing the most random things and they always have some problem that comes up and they always work together and are there for each other and are always there to make sure things get done,” Wilkey said.
He also said it had taken every single day in office to get those things done, which is a job that Spark has had just more than seven weeks to prepare for since their win was declared in late February.
“It’s a really strange process, especially when you win, and you’ve got like a month of transition time,” said Chloe Anagnos, now vice president. “I was kinda sitting around really bored and then I realized, ‘Oh my gosh, Wednesday I’m going to have so much to do and I’m so excited.’”
The slate has been meeting with the past executive board as well as President Jo Ann Gora during that transition period to set the stage for their new positions. Inauguration was pushed back to the last two weeks of school to give the incoming executive board time to be trained and adjust.
The new year for the SGA will be kicked off with the planning of the Blue Light application and pre-game parties for the football games that aim to increase attendance and participation from students, according to Malachi Randolph, now president of SGA. Both ideas were integral to the slate’s platform during the campaign season.
The work for the new executive board will now begin. They will have an agenda meeting today to address what they will do in their next senatorial meeting as well as a meeting with the athletic department.
The past executives also had some advice for the new slate as they prepared to take on these endeavors, among others.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat this experience for you,” Heather Closson, now former vice president. “It’s hard, it’s challenging. There are going to be days where you’re going to be absolutely drained. But, as long as you are there for each other and support each other, you are going to come out on top.”
The incoming executive board expressed their understanding of these challenges and the need for unity among not only the SGA, but among the student body.
“We believe in the university,” Randolph said. “We understand the importance of unity and strenght and oneness and because of that, we wish to exercise the influence of that not on you, but among you.”
