Campaigning begins for next year’s SGA

• Two slates, Cardinal Connection and Empower, announced intent to campaign for the executive board of next year’s Student Government Association.

• Cardinal Connection’s platform is to embark on new ideas, engage with organizations, envision a better campus and commit to students.

• Empower’s platform aims to educate students on safety, promote equal treatment of diverse students, encourage growth and collaboration between leadership and maintain Ball State traditions for the future.

Two groups have started campaigning for the executive board of next year’s Student Government Association.

On Monday night at the convention, the slates Cardinal Connection and Empower accepted nominations to run.

Alex Sventeckis, SGA elections board chairman, said there were no campaign violations and slates were officially permitted to start campaigning when the convention closed. Elections will be Feb. 24 and Feb. 25.

One slate, 50 Shades of Blue, was nominated jokingly and did not accept the nomination. Chloe Anagnos, current SGA president; Jack Hesser, current SGA president pro tempore; Tyler Noragon, current president of National Residence Hall Honorary; and Danica Craig, current president of Panhellenic Council, were nominated and immediately declined saying they would, “Try again next year.”

The group started a Twitter page, @5OShadesofBlue, to say they are “supporting both of the slates running this year.”

In addition to the slate nominations, 12 senators were nominated and approved for the following term, which will start in April.

Slates will have three chances to appear before the student body in a series of debates, the first of which will be between vice presidential candidates at 7 p.m. Thursday at in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center Cardinal Hall B.

CARDINAL CONNECTION
Cardinal Connection was the first to accept its nomination.

The slate includes presidential nominee Nick Wilkey, vice presidential nominee Carli Hendershot, secretary nominee Rahissa Engle and treasurer nominee Sidney Staples.

Junior risk management and insurance major Wilkey is no stranger to SGA elections; he was the vice presidential candidate for Fusion last year. His older brother, Chris, was the president of SGA with Alliance during the 2012-13 school year.

He started thinking of his slate for this year’s election in mid-October.

“I approached Carli and Rahissa, and they gave me the confidence to know we would do a good job as a slate and actually accomplish all of our platform points,” Wilkey said.

Cardinal Connection boasts a member of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community as well as racial diversity. Engle, a sophomore psychology and sociology major, said these weren’t the primary factors that brought them together.

“It wasn’t even about the diversity,” she said. “Nick approached each of us because he realized each of us represented a different part of campus. It’s not just the fact that we are all different races, it’s that we can all bring new ideas. We want to unite campus.”

Staple, a junior telecommunications major, said no one will be underrepresented if their slate becomes the executive board.

“We plan on implementing new values, new goals,” he said. “No matter what your race or background or ethnicity is, that’s not going to hinder you because we can all come together and accomplish a main goal.”

Cardinal Connection’s platform is Embark, Engage, Envision and Commit. The group wants to embark on new ideas, engage with organizations, envision a better campus and commit to students.

Sophomore political science major Hendershot said she is ready to assume responsibility as a member of the executive board. She is currently the Spectrum representative for SGA and a multicultural adviser.

“I really want to dedicate myself to a community that has given me so many wonderful opportunities,” Hendershot said. “I really want to connect the students to a welcoming environment at Ball State.”

Three members of Cardinal Connection have prior SGA experience. Wilkey was a senator for two years, including one year as a member of Campus Council and University Senate. Hendershot is in her second year as a senator and Staples is in his first.

EMPOWER
Empower, the second slate, is made up of presidential nominee Jes Wade, vice presidential nominee Gabi Bunn, treasurer nominee Connor Saum and secretary nominee Bekki Kimani.

Wade, a junior telecommunications, sales and promotion major said she met Bunn and Saum through a leadership class. They then asked Kimani to join their slate.

“We kind of threw the idea around and we decided to roll with it,” Wade said.

Saum, a junior human resources management major who serves on the Interfraternity Council for Phi Sigma Kappa, said Empower is a cohesive enough group that knows its weaknesses and strengths.

“We feel like we have adequate strength for all of our points, but my favorite is the implement of leadership on campus,” Saum said. “We want to partner with Excellence in Leadership to make an emerging leaders retreat available to all grades, freshmen through seniors.”

Junior marketing major Bunn said their life experiences are what set their slate apart. She said because they have had a lot of diverse leadership positions, they represent a good amount of the students on campus.

“We said that we would give it our all or we weren’t going to do it at all,” Bunn said. “I think we’re very driven.”

Empower’s platform encompasses Safety, Diversity, Leadership and Tradition. The slate wants to educate students on safety, promote equal treatment of diverse students, encourage growth and collaboration between leadership and maintain Ball State traditions for the future.

Junior public relations major Kimani said she does not think there is a weak part to their platform.

“We listened to what people had to say about what’s going on at the Ball State campus,” Kimani said. “So I think all of our slate is strong.”

Collectively, Empower has four years of SGA service. Wade is in her first year as a senator and Bunn has been a senator for three years, while Saum and Kimani said they have sat in on SGA delegations.

Kara Berg contributed to these stories.

For more information on the two slates, visit their Facebook pages and websites:

Cardinal Connection

Empower