Students filled Irazú Coffee on March 11 to hear from three candidates who are running for an executive position on Elon’s Student Government Association about what they hope to bring to the student body if elected.
The topics discussed included sustainability and the lack of SGA knowledge on campus. Elon senior and SGA Executive President Anya Bratić said events like these are important because it allows students to ask questions and be informed.
“I think one thing that we've talked about tonight is that students often don't know who they're voting for,” Bratić said. “By having this event, this is the perfect way for students to get to learn more about who's exactly on their ballot.”
Elon sophomore Jack Fleming came into the forum to support his friend, Michael Swartz, who is running for president, but ended up leaving with more information about SGA that he didn't previously have.
“I was here to support him. I kind of realized, secondarily, that I got to learn,” Fleming said. “I realized my ignorance of SGA and how little I know about it, and I got to learn about a lot more of what they do, what their limitations are, and what they can do for me and other organizations I'm involved with across campus.”
During the Q&A, Fleming asked the candidates about the lack of SGA knowledge on campus.
“I realized I didn't have the questions to even understand who I would want to vote for, because I don't have a conceptualization,” Fleming said.
Elon junior and executive president candidate Jocelyn Gomez said Fleming's question was one of her favorites, because she said it’s true.
“Not many people at Elon's campus know about SGA, and so why should they come to these events? Why should they care about that? I really love that,” Gomez said.
Gomez also said she saw that the panel showed the passion that candidates, like her, have for SGA.
“I think what was really nice was that we were kind of bouncing off each other's ideas, the whole executive candidate panel,” Gomez said. “You can tell that our hearts are all in the same place, which means that no matter what happens, we're all going to do well.”
Elon junior and executive president candidate Michael Swartz said the turnout made him think more about what he wanted to do in SGA.
“It's always a growing process, and I'm not perfect, nor is any candidate, so being able to grow and learn from everyone else is also something I love to do and plan on continuing, Swartz said
Bratić said she hopes that the forum was able to provide students with the information they need for the upcoming elections.
“I'm hoping out of this event, they can associate a name with a face, that maybe before coming to this event, they wouldn't have had the opportunity to,” Bratić said.
The upcoming SGA elections will take place March 16 and 17 on PhoenixConnect.