With less than one third of the students enrolled voting in the 2023-24 Student Government Association (SGA) elections, the Alabama State University student body voted for one incumbent and three new executive officers.
Sophomore rehabilitation services major Landon Hale, garnered enough votes to capture the SGA executive presidency.
He used the acronym G.O.A.T (guarantee, optimism and transparency) as his campaign platform to catch the attention of his constituency. Hale is a Birmingham native and graduate of Ramsay High School and his post-graduation goal is to further his career in healthcare.
He expressed his feelings once his victory was announced.
“Being elected as president so early in my college career will teach me the art of responsibility quickly,” he said. “I am eager to serve and I know this year will be amazing.”
Hope Smith, a junior majoring in business management, was elected into the position of SGA executive vice president. Smith is no stranger to SGA as she served as the SGA executive secretary this past year.
Her campaign slogan, “It’s Time for H.O.P.E. (Helping Our Peers Effectively)” connected with voters and won her the vice president position.
Smith is a native of Montgomery, Alabama, and graduated from Jefferson Davis Sr. High School in Montgomery, Alabama. She has a passion for making change through advocacy. She plans on bridging her skills of public speaking, work ethic and time management with a career choice of public administration by way of public health and educational policy.
Her response to winning was, “I believe everything happens because of God and I am so grateful in knowing that the student body trusts me to serve as the SGA vice president.”
The student body selected incumbent Tre’von Conner as the SGA executive treasurer. Conner is a junior majoring in finance, from the port city of Mobile, Alabama. His campaign slogan was “C.O.U.N.T. (Collaborating, Outreaching, Upgrading, Negotiating and Teaching) on Conner.”
“I am so happy to know that ASU wanted me to serve as treasurer for a second time,” he said. “It was truly a blessing to serve last year and it’s only up from here!”
Montgomery native Alexandra Thomas beat out one other candidate to be named SGA executive secretary. The sophomore rehabilitation services major campaigned on the slogan “Act Like A Scholar, Think Like a Hornet.” That phrase is more than just a campaign slogan for Thomas and she hopes to prove why during her tenure.
A large contingency of supporters of all of the candidates gathered at the John Garrick Hardy Student Center Amphitheater to hear the announcement of the newly elected leaders.
Each of the officers’ terms will begin on May 1 and they will serve until April 30 of the next year.
The Student Government Association is the official student governance body at the university. Its main responsibilities are to help facilitate student/faculty relations, to ensure that student concerns and needs are resolved, and to oversee student clubs and other activities. The SGA ensures that students have a representative “voice” on campus.