Your New 2021-2022 SGA Executive Board
Image Courtesy of Hands to Serve, Hearts to Lead
By Shannon Rose Miekka
After a hard-fought campaign season, twelve hours of open polls, and over one thousand votes cast, the 2021-2022 Student Government Association Executive Board results are in.
President: Abby Anger
Vice President: Monica Wallace
Treasurer: Curtis Bommer
Secretary: Philip Ahearn
The presidential/vice presidential ticket of Abby Anger/Monica Wallace won 67.57% of the vote.
“I trust that the student body made a wise decision in this election, and that Abby, Monica, Curtis, and Phil will do a superb job at the helm of SGA next year,” current SGA President Gerald Sharpe said.
The team was inspired by Mother Teresa when creating their “Hands to Serve and Hearts to Lead” campaign motto.
“Hands to Serve, Hearts to Lead” edged out their competition, the “WeCU” campaign: Presidential candidate Alan Cunningham, vice presidential candidate Jordan Farrell, and Secretarial candidate Grace Birth.
The Tower reached out to presidential runner-up candidate junior Alan Cunningham to ask what he hopes the new SGA executive will do next year.
“I hope the next executive tackles the big issues on campus that never get addressed,” said Cunningham. “Inequities, culture issues, healthcare issues, especially women’s health care and mental healthcare, as well as fighting for a $15 minimum wage for student workers.”
2020-2021 SGA President Sharpe gave some advice to his successors.
“Part of my advice to them is that communication with the student body, especially during a pandemic, is of utmost importance,” said Sharpe. “We cannot advocate for students if we are not communicating with them.”
About the New Executive Board
President-elect Abby Anger is a junior psychology and politics double major. She is also pursuing minors in theology & religious studies and Hispanic studies. Anger currently serves as the SGA Secretary and is excited to be at the helm next semester.
“The Hands & Hearts Campaign was different than previous campaigns due to both our intentionality in including student voices and our transparency regarding our detailed policy plans,” the new president said. “When our team decided to run last fall, we hit the ground running by expanding the number of students involved in our policy decisions from just the four candidates to over 25 student leaders.”
Junior Monica Wallace is the vice president-elect. Wallace is an economics major, minoring in politics and finance.
“I aim to create an atmosphere in the Senate that welcomes a diversity of viewpoints and ideas,” Wallace said. “This goal centers around ensuring that the legislation passed by Senators and consequently advocated for with administrators is representative of all student voices. I will work towards this goal by building intentional relationships with various student organizations and offices on campus, such as the Center for Cultural Engagement.”
Treasurer-elect is sophomore Curtis Bommer, who has been on the Treasury Board for two years. He is majoring in international economics and finance.
“I want to focus on further crafting and reforming the treasury board’s liaison program,” Bommer said. “I want to make the board feel like a group of approachable students who value the success of their passions and who are willing to fund any event, so long as our bylaws allow. I also am aiming at expanding communication networks and will be trying to help student orgs secure capital in ways other than direct funding, as I think that seed money allows for both student orgs and students themselves to directly support what they love.”
Secretary-elect Phil Ahearn is a junior politics major, minoring in philosophy and Hispanic studies. Ahearn has experience running outreach and communications for the Office of Campus Activities.
“My overarching goal is to inspire a passion for involvement with the Student Government across the student body,” Ahearn said. “SGA is an organization made up of students who aim to serve others, and including as many students as possible in this effort is my utmost priority.”
The “Hands to Serve, Hearts to Lead” team detailed reform plans for each of their new offices.
Source: Hands to Serve, Hearts to Lead Instagram
Campaign Promises
The Hands & Hearts campaign had four foundational pillars: servant leadership, inclusivity, apoliticality, and community focus.
The campaign highlighted seven different policy initiatives: representation, academic expansion, community building, CACs reform, student health, crisis preparation, and fiscal responsibility.
Source: Hands to Serve, Hearts to Lead Instagram
Noteworthy plans include: more funding for the Media and Communications department, proceeding with development of the Africana Studies program, creating a Sister Thea Bowman scholarship fund to bring diverse voices to CUA, establishing an internship database for undergrads, more funding for the Cardinal Cupboard, and requesting a lower and “more responsible” SGA and Executive Operating Budget for the 2021/2022 year.
The first 100 days
The first policy issue that President-elect Anger wants to address: Title IX reform.
“The first step in implementing this policy will be creating an SGA Title IX Taskforce that brings together student leaders to discuss change and reform they want to see on our campus,” Anger said. “Through this taskforce, we will take action – partnering with Orientation to expand freshman Title IX training, researching renewable training programs for upperclassmen, and creating Title IX resource stations in dorms across campus.”
“As President, I will work everyday to ensure that survivors of sexual assault on our campus have a place for their voices calling for change to be heard and acted on in Student Government,” Anger added.
The Tower asked each newly elected official what they want to accomplish in their first 100 days.
Vice President-elect Wallace’s first priority is to create the executive budget.
“Considering the financial strain of COVID-19 on the University, we are being intentional to minimize our costs and use all of the funds we do request efficiently,” Wallace said. “Next year will be a pivotal one for student government as the school community reunites after a year and a half of living through a pandemic and we need your efforts and ideas to best represent our community during this transitional time.”
Treasurer-elect Bommer plans to build up a strong Treasury Board “full of excited and enthusiastic directors.”
“I will be allocating funds to preallocated organizations such as Campus Ministry, Program Board, and CenterStage, and allowing for them to function and prepare before the upcoming academic year officially begins,” Bommer added.
Secretary-elect Ahearn’s priority is “assembling a strong communications team within the Executive by building intentional relationships with students across campus.”
President-Elect Anger expressed her gratitude to all students who participated in the election, “those who voted for us and those who didn’t.”
“Your voice is important and your place in SGA doesn’t end on election day – please get involved!” Anger encouraged. “Apply for Treasury Board or Executive Initiative positions, run for Senate in the fall, attend our office hours – we want to hear your voice throughout next year! Myself and the entire Executive are so honored and grateful for the opportunity to serve you. Please know that I am always an email away ([email protected]) and would love to grab coffee and talk about the changes you want to see for the betterment of our community and home.”
The inauguration for the new executive will take place on Saturday, May 1, at 12pm EST, in the Pryz Great Rooms and via Zoom.
Editor’s Note: In a previous version of this article, it was reported that Anger/Wallace was the first all-female presidential and vice presidential ticket to be elected to SGA Office. The first all-female ticket was Kristina Pinault and Lauren Werling in 2016. The article has been edited to reflect this correction.
