Voting to begin: SGA elections approach

It is annual SGA presidential election week, and students are highly encouraged to cast their votes for the new student body president.

The current president, Daniel Hostetter, has been in office for two terms but will be graduating in the spring. In his stead, candidates Silas Pearson and Adam Diehl are running against Isaac Kantola and Abbye Morgan. 

The student body president maintains connections between students and administrators. It is the their job to ensure that student voices are heard and that all of SGA functions accordingly. Because of this, the character of the elected officials is extremely important.

“We’re learning a lot of things from administration, and we have to be selective and intentional about the things that we share with the student body,” Hostetter said. “So integrity and character (are) really important. The same traits you would look for in a kind, good Christian leader, like integrity, honesty, character and competence are the same things that any president must have, and those are the things that students should be looking for.”

In previous years, voting days have been limited to one day during election week, but this year, SGA has changed that to give students more time to vote, emphasizing the importance of the election.

Voting will happen on March 27 and 28 with election results out by 5 p.m. on March 28.

“(We) wanted to really get the election out before students, because election season is such a great way to let students know what we’re doing for them,” Hostetter said.

Liberty students especially have an interest in student government and ensuring they select the best candidate to represent them.

“There’s a decent amount of students who, when they are told why it matters, care,” Hostetter said. “I think that speaks a lot to the character of our students.”

SGA is an important part of Liberty University and the election is just one way students can get involved. It also serves to the larger scope of the school’s mission statement of training champions for Christ.

“In America, we often think it’s only policy that matters,” Hostetter said. “And I think SGA election can help remind us that as Champions for Christ, what we are also to value is Christ-like character, even if you’e not a Christian.”

Cast your votes this week and stop by the campaign tables in DeMoss to learn more about the upcoming student body president elections.

Johnson is a news reporter for the Liberty Champion