Juniors Jordan Locke and Ike Ekeke were elected last Wednesday to serve as the new SGA president and vice president for the coming year.
Election officials said 734 votes were cast. Locke and Ekeke won 477 of these, earning them 65 percent of the vote.
Locke’s supporters cheered on as the banner displaying the results was unveiled around 6 p.m. in Connell Student Center.
Locke and Ekeke ran on the campaign slogan “A Better Mercer,” and their platform focused on progressive feasibility.
Their other goals include: revamping the Bear Bikes program, continuing green initiatives, improving the implementation of student organizations, dealing with safety and parking issues on campus and working on SGA transparency.
“I’m very excited and honored to be able to serve the student body in this capacity in the upcoming year,” Locke said.
Locke has served on the Public Relations and Elections Committee, has chaired the Macon Connections Committee and has chaired the Heritage Life Committee twice. Both he and Ekeke have served on the special committee for Bear Bikes.
Ekeke has served on the Student Life and Organization Affairs Committee, Contract Services Committee and on the special committee for Absence Legislation Reform.
Ekeke said thinking about all the students he could help in his new position motivated him to accept Locke’s request for him to be vice president. He also felt that he and Locke had similar ideas on campus issues and admired the work Locke had done on the Heritage Life Committee.
“I was excited that I would be getting to work with him and help out the student body,” Ekeke said.
Locke also based his decision to run on a desire to improve the student experience at Mercer. “I eventually made the decision to run because I’m very passionate about the university and making it a better place to go to school,” he said.
Locke said he is personally passionate about seeing the Bear Bike program thrive, but he feels another issue is of utmost importance to the student body. “I think that the issue I see as most applicable and beneficial to the student body is improving the number of cameras and lights in some of our under-covered outdoor lots.”
When asked what issue on his platform was most important to him personally, Ekeke said he would have a tough time deciding between SGA transparency and safety on campus.
“I feel safe [on campus], and I feel like we should take steps to make sure all students feel the same,” he said.
As for transparency, Ekeke hopes to utilize technology to communicate more effectively with students. One proposal on the table is to place a kiosk in the lobby of Connell Student Center to give students an opportunity to voice their opinion on current issues.
“When it comes to new technology, we always want to try it out,” Ekeke said.
Both juniors are excited about the results of the election and confident that they are up for the challenge.
“I, undoubtedly, am someone who pours their soul into their work. As SGA President, I will not hold myself to any other standard,” Locke said. “I believe that, between Ike and I, we cover a vast section of the student body and the comprehensive Mercer experience.”
“My legs got kind of weak when the banner was dropped,” Ekeke joked. “I’m very appreciative of the support from the student body, and I’m going to do everything I can to represent students as well as I can.”
SGA President Trent White expressed his enthusiasm for the year to come.
“I was very pleased with the platform they ran on, and I’m very excited to see what’s to come,” White said.
