Collin Potter, a Marketing Research and Analytics senior from Mt. Sterling, has secured the student vote for President of the Student Government Association. As the newly elected SGA president, Potter will also serve as student representative to the EKU Board of Regents. Potter joined the SGA as a Student Senator in 2013 and has also served as treasurer and president of Theta Chi fraternity. A true Colonel, Potter comes from a family of EKU graduates. After completing his BBA in 2017, he plans to pursue a master's degree in business administration.
The Eastern Progress, by Brianna White
After election results were delayed Tuesday night, Collin Potter and Sebastian Torres were named student body president and executive vice president, respectively. Their campaign received 593 votes.
Even though the duo was running uncontested, Potter said they have been chalking, posting fliers and waking up early to campaign and connecting with students.
“It was really cool to get to talk to all the students and tell them about the election,” Torres said. He said hearing what students thought the issues were on campus and what students wanted to see done was enlightening.
For their term, Potter said they have a lot of things they want to work on, but he and Torres can work together well, communicate and stay organized.
Torres said both he and Potter have been involved in several groups on campus and will be able to reach out and connect with students who may not know about the Student Government Association (SGA).
Starting out, Potter and Torres said they will work with extended campuses and increasing funding amounts over the summer in addition to sitting down with administrators to talk about their goals, both of which are things that can be done without the other branches of SGA, Potter said.
Potter and Torres’ biggest goal for their term is constructing a pedestrian walkway across the bypass connecting Alumni Coliseum to Keene Hall. Potter said it is something that has been looked into by the university before, but they want to push it as a safety initiative.
“Our safety initiatives are something we can hit hard,” Potter said. “We both have experience with student safety, and that’s something we’d really like to get started on before school gets started again.”
A write in ballot for Josh Moberly and William Paul Shelton as student body president and executive vice president, respectively, was also submitted. The Moberly/Shelton campaign had 28 votes.
After polls opened at 8 a.m. Tuesday, March 22, an error was noticed said Chief of Staff Allie Maples when reading the results. Vice President for Student Activities Council candidate Marvin Stewart was listed under the Student Senate ballot. The error was corrected and reposted at 8:40 a.m.
Information was sent properly listing all candidates for their desired positions to the information technology employee and that employee accepts fault for the mistake, Maples said. Only 18 votes were affected by the error.
To ensure fairness to both candidates, the elections committee voted in a closed session to maintain the integrity of the votes cast by students from 8 a.m. to 8:40 a.m., Maples said.
Jade McClure received 359 votes to Stewart’s 272 for the position.
A full list of senator election results is posted online and on the door to the SGA office in the Powell Building (Room 132).
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