In lieu of the typical debate, candidates for the Student Government Association (SGA) executive positions participated in a forum on Tuesday, March 31. All members of the singular ticket, SMA, participated.
“A year ago, sitting in Unicoi County High School, I didn’t think I would be in this position,” said Audie Brown, candidate for vice president of finance and administration, to a crowd of mostly SGA members.
Brown is a Roan Scholar and a double major in biomedical health science and health administration. He is also a freshman—a rare occurrence for an executive candidate. Despite his young age, Brown prides himself on how quickly he got involved in student government. One project he worked on will provide more dining options for students.
“There’s a meal swipe exchange program coming to campus next year where you can go to retail dining locations and get food for free using your meal swipe,” said Brown.
This project changed the silver meal plan to now include an extra $50 dining dollars and three meal exchanges per week at retail dining locations on campus. The cost of the silver plan will increase from $2,160 to $2,270.
Macy Miller, candidate for executive vice president, served as vice president of finance and administration this past year. She is a communication studies major and a Global Citizen Scholar. Miller discussed how the regulation of scooters on campus—an issue students are vocal about—was addressed by creating a scooter tagging system.
“There are rules in place for scooters. I think they can only go ten miles per hour, and frankly, every single one I see is going above that,” said Miller. “So, to be able to ticket these users, also for leaving their scooters in the wrong place, I think that will be a good way to at least make some headway on the scooter crisis.”
The administration worked with ETSU President Brian Noland to create this change, and Miller highlighted the importance of strong relationships with university administrators. She reflected on the time period between elections and the end of the semester, saying it typically takes the rest of spring to build the relationships needed to create change. Miller claimed returning candidates being able to spend that extra time working for students as a benefit of reelection.
Shelby Koerten, a Roan Scholar and communication studies major, is seeking reelection as president and hopes to foster a new type of connection between university decision makers and the student body. She hopes to set up town hall style meetings for administrators to explain their decisions to students.
Communication is important within SGA per its constitution, which specifically promotes fostering better understanding and allowing students to express themselves to administrators—not the other way around.
SGA’s other purpose is to coordinate activities, and one event Koerten is proud of is the Appalachian Folk festival taking place Tuesday, April 7 in the University Commons and at the Reece Museum.
“I’m really excited because it’s going to be elevating a lot of the more unique facets of student life at the university. You’ve got bluegrass, storytelling, a Grammy-nominated alum (Amythyst Kiah) coming back to perform. It’s so incredible,” Koerten said. “I know, for myself, I didn’t even understand, and still don’t to a degree, just how vast our Appalachian roots are here.”
Koerten concludes by acknowledging the gravity of her role, reiterating her commitment, and reflecting on the significance of a potential two-term presidency, the most recent being Mason Mosier whose last term ended in 2023.
“It isn’t lost on me that it has been a minute since we’ve had a two-term president,” Koerten said. “Our platform isn’t fluff, our messaging isn’t just to be trendy, it is truly the heart of who we are and what we’re doing, and we are legitimately for you.”
Voting will be open April 2-3. Students will receive a link via their student email.
