BY STEWART COARD – STAFF WRITER
Centre’s candidates for Student Government office faced off in a debate on March 14, roughly two weeks ago.
Students running for positions as Student Government President, Speaker of the House, President of the Student Senate, and President of the Student Activities Council, spoke on stage, discussing their platforms, addressing questions from the Cento and members of the student body, as well as detailing their plans for next year.
Kirby Fitzpatrick, the current Secretary of Administration, and Ben Coates ran against each other for Student Government president. Alex Grover and Walker Morell competed for Speaker of the House. Noah Martin and Amaryst Parks ran uncontested for President of the Student Senate and President of the Student Activities Council respectively.
The opportunity to hear their candidates publicly discuss their positions and communicate with those candidates is important for students at Centre. “The debate is a way for the Student Government Association to directly deal with student issues,” said Benjamin Thome, a member of SGA.
Hannah Gibbs, a sophomore at Centre, discussed why she felt the SGA debate is important to Centre and its student body. “I think that because SGA has so much influence over student activities, the debate was a way for students to actually know what was going on.”
“They were very focused on being inclusive and student involvement, specifically for underrepresented groups,” Gibbs described the issues discussed by SGA candidates. “That issue of underrepresented groups was one I specifically wanted to see addressed.”
When asked about what she expected from SGA officers, Centre student Kore Severance said “I expect them to be approachable and know how each aspect of student government works, that way even if they can’t handle my concern, they can direct me to someone who can.”
“I would like to see elevators for the dorms,” Severance spoke about her hopes for SGA initiatives in the future. “I feel handicapped students are forced to take first floor rooms, when they should have more options, and it would be more convenient for second and third floor students on move in day.”
Kirby Fitzpatrick won the race for SGA president by a margin of 10%, while Walker Morrell won Speaker of the House by a 14% margin.