By Cecilia Cress and Olivia Montes
News Co-Editors
After several days of campaigning, debating, and voting, the Washington College Student Government Association announced via email the results of the presidential and vice-presidential elections on March 9.
According to their email, former SGA Vice President junior Alex May is the 2022-2023 SGA president and Black Student Union President and WAC Democrats vice president junior Jonah Nicholson is the 2022-2023 SGA Vice President.
May said that the students at the College inspired her campaign.
“I love listening to my fellow classmates and their interests and goals…[and] I think that the SGA president should represent an open-minded individual for the WC campus and serve as an active listener and advocate for the student body,” May said.
In addition to representing her fellow students’ goals and interests, May said she also hopes to “serve as an informed advocate to all [her] peers’ diverse ideals and beliefs, bring back a greater WC spirit, and bridge the gap between different groups on campus” — all alongside “a whole school of people.”
“I am open to any collaboration on this, and I want people to feel comfortable coming to me with any of their concerns or ideas to better our school and community,” May said.
For Nicholson, they said becoming the next SGA vice president, and the reactions from their peers and fellow community members, is “unimaginable.”
“I know how to feel, and, at the same time, I don’t,” Nicholson said. “The fact that [many BIPOC students] feel the energy [and] the fact that they feel like they can go for it without being judged, because of their skin color — it just means so much.”
According to previous Elm coverage, Nicholson hopes to, in addition to helping update campus traditions for the 2022-23 academic year, raise awareness of available resources for student-led clubs and organizations, and create additional opportunities for student leaders on campus.
Nicholson said they also hope to continue being an active ally for the entire WC student body and ensure that cumulative change continues to be made across campus.
“I hope the end goal is really to see the progressive change that’s made at the school, not just on the SGA level, but on a school-wide level in so many different areas,” Nicholson said. “Now that I’m vice president, I’m a resource for a lot of different clubs and organizations…and I’m excited to help…create and cultivate a new culture, just because there are going to be more groups that want to come.”
Additionally, according to the SGA Minutes from March 8, May and Nicholson will be joined by WAC Democrats President junior Nicholas Splendoria as the speaker of the Senate.
In this new position, Splendoria seeks to not only facilitate productive meetings and encourage fellow students to get involved with SGA, but also “bridge the gap” between SGA and the surrounding WC community.
“I think that it’s something that we can’t not talk about — a growing rift between the student body and the SGA,” Splendoria said. “I’m excited to try to help…bring more students into SGA and see [this organization] is a place that they want to go and where they can voice their ideas…to make this campus and this school better.”
Throughout the 2022-2023 academic year, Splendoria wants to be “as open as possible.” He also wants to connect more affinity groups and take additional “practical steps to recruit diverse voices to be in the SGA,” as well as increase school spirit across campus.
“If students know there’s a lot of school pride, and people feel like their voices are being heard — and [all] that they’re doing — are having an impact, it makes students want to get more involved with student life…and…it makes it more fun,” Splendoria said.
As of time of print, in addition to helping new leaders prepare for the responsibilities of their respective roles, the SGA is interviewing applicants for the 2022-2023 academic year executive board, according to the campus-wide email released on March 10.