Junior communication major Will Roberts won the election for 2015-16 Student Government Association president, running unopposed.
Roberts campaigned with junior health major Ankit Patel, who was elected vice president.
“There was still a level of anxiety that came with that week [even though I ran unopposed],” Roberts said. “I was campaigning still, trying to get Patel elected, [and] we were successful.”
Roberts first joined SGA as a tribunal justice as a sophomore. “After my sophomore year, I applied for chief justice,” Roberts said. “Halfway through this past year, I felt I could take on the role of president, serve the student body and expand student government.”
The lack of opposing candidates was not entirely surprising, according to Roberts. “People usually start talking about running for SGA shortly after the winter break, which was when I had decided to run,” Roberts said. “I hadn’t really heard anyone else saying they were going to, but I was still getting campaign materials ready.”
Completing his second year in SGA and soon to enter his third, Roberts said SGA is held to a high standard by students and other members of the APSU community. “SGA does a lot of things for the campus, like programming things like Mudbowl and The Big Event,” Roberts said. “But people also come to us. They expect a lot out of us. The hardest thing is knowing what’s expected of you.”
Roberts said current President Zac Gillman first made him interested in SGA. “[Gillman]’s also one of my fraternity brothers,” Roberts said. “Dan Pitts, our vice president, taught me a lot over the past year, how to handle different situations, dealing with people, dealing with certain events and different scenarios. Pitts and Gilman have really taught me a lot.”
For those interested in getting involved with SGA in the future, Roberts said there are many ways for students to make their voices heard.
“The Senate meets weekly, and these meetings are open to the campus community,” Roberts said. “[Students] can voice their concerns that way. There’s always someone in the SGA office every day, so they can come and voice their opinions.”
Roberts said, during his tenure as president, he wants SGA to be approachable by the student body. “We are a student organization, so we serve the students more than we serve anybody else,” Roberts said. “We are here for student concerns, and we are students. Everyone here is a student first, so we are in the same boat. We all go to class every day, our grades and academics come first, and we deal with the same issues as everyone else on campus. If you can get past the titles, we’re just the same.”
