–by Lauren Wasson, SGA executive president candidate

I would be remiss if I did not begin by thanking the Optimist for their endorsement of our campaign. Tsion and I truly and deeply appreciate this honor. In these next few sentences, I would like to clarify part of our heart and plans for SGA, if elected. Above all else, Tsion and I desire for campus to be a thriving center for community and change, driven by students and their ideas. Truly, students are the harbingers of change with powerful insight and plans for the future. As a result, we sought their advice before running or planning a platform. Tsion and I cannot count the amount of conversations between students, where we asked, “What do you want from ACU?” After hearing their replies, we formulated the Big Six, our platform. This platform served to address the prevalent issues discussed with students. In other words, Tsion and I have been listening to students this past year, in preparation for working to build a plan of action with them, to make their dreams, goals, and vison for campus a reality. No one or two people can know or understand the needs of an entire campus. As a result, we sought out students in the early planning stages, because we needed and wanted their input. We understood that our destination was a connected, thriving community of students on campus, who felt heard and represented by SGA. If you desire to reach a destination, but don’t know the way to reach the end, without a map or plan of action, you won’t reach the end you were desiring. Our purpose with specificity in the platform is to reach the destination and vision students showed us, by building a map with their suggestions, which we like to call “The Big Six.”

Once again, thank you to the Optimist. Also, thank you to all the students who have supported us and continue to support us in our campaign for SGA. Thank you for being open with us, sharing your experiences, knowledge, and heart, and ultimately, making us a better and stronger community.