Elections for Student Association (SA) Executive Cabinet will take place today, Feb. 21. Students will be able to vote for the final two presidential candidates, as well as the vice president positions, through a personalized link that will be sent to their emails.
After the primary elections on Feb. 14, the presidential candidates have narrowed down from four runners to two. Psychology senior Delaney Harris, who proposed Religious and Health and Wellness Vice President Positions in her campaign, was left out of the race with only 4.97 percent of the votes.
Eveling Grajales, a biology major who wanted to start a series of workshops that would provide students with “hands on-experience” in various professional fields as well as opportunities to engage with Jesus outside traditional church services, also lost the primary election with 22.06 percent of the votes.
The finalists are Tiago Ferreira, junior international development studies major, who received 27.64 percent of the votes and Mark Galvez, junior theology major, with 45.43 percent of the votes.
In his campaign, Ferreira talked about creating a two-way street to improve the communication between administration and the student body. Ferreira also plans to reprioritize the Student Association budget to provide free eco-friendly tampons and pads, cut parking permit prices and address campus security concerns.
“I understand that there are limitations to what I can do but I will use the creativity and the skills that we learn here to face these problems,” Ferreira said. “I will mobilize and empower the student body to face these issues together on a daily basis. We are going to build our student government on the rock.”
Galvez’s campaign places a focus on Activate Southern, scholarships for International Students, transferable meal plans, monthly focus groups and online counseling for those suffering of anxiety and depression.
“Though I stand on an elevated platform, I believe this is a representation of whom you can count on,” Galvez said. “You have seen my personality, now let me introduce you to my character. I believe in your gifts and your talents. I run for the international student who does not know if they’ll come back. I run for the hungry student who adds money to their meal plan over and over again. For the depressed and the anxious, I believe there is hope.”
Besides the two presidential candidates, students will also be able to vote in favor or against the candidates running for the positions of Vice President and Social Vice President: Luis Moreno and Maddy Thomas respectively.
Moreno is a sophomore studying psychology in Industrial Organization. He wants to create easy venues of communication between the senators and students and work closely with Campus Ministries and alumni to improve the students’ spiritual growth and relationship with graduates.
“If you choose to elect me as your next executive vice president, I am dedicated to working the long hours and putting in the work necessary to make Southern a place where we are able to share our struggles and our culture and grow as a community regardless of race, skin color, nationality or gender,” Moreno said.
Thomas is a sophomore history major. Her plans currently include a campus-wide treasure hunt, a fashion show and an Arabian Night.
“I want to be able to serve the student body to the best of my abilities all while keeping God and our values in mind,” Thomas said.