Mercer’s Student Government Association announced the winners of their elections for senator-at-large, senior senate, junior senate and sophomore senate for the 2022-2023 school year Thursday,.
Voting was open for these elections and for a referendum vote for SGA’s constitutional amendments from Wednesday morning until Thursday at 5 p.m. The results were announced in the Connell Student Center at about 6 p.m.
Rylan Allen and Abigail Yemisrach were announced as the 2022-2023 SGA President and Vice President earlier this month.
SGA consists of 25 senators along with an executive board and five standing committees. The executive board includes five positions selected by the president and vice president, including a parliamentarian, chief of staff, treasurer, recording secretary and media secretary. The senator-at-large candidate with the most votes is chosen as the "leading" senator-at-large, and the senator in each class category who receives the most votes is made class president.
Matthew Encarnación will be the leading senator-at-large with 550 votes. Arianna Long, Atia Bailey, Anniston Nooks and Eric Foreman were also elected as senators-at-large.
Themba Nsubuga was elected senior class president with 117 votes. The additional senior senator elects are Kathryn Rhodes, Derrick Buie, Larry Sullivan and Michael Bowman Olay.
In junior senate, Benjamin Smith was elected class president, followed by Simran Rai, Matthew Smith and Jamison Clark.
The sophomore class president will be Khushi Patel, with Rafael Garcia Chirino, Audrey Stratton and Zoe Grace Smith winning positions in the sophomore senate.
Freshman senate elections will take place after the class of 2026 arrives in the fall.
SGA represents Mercer students while serving as a liaison between the student body and the administration. Responsibilities specific to senators include allocating funds to student organizations and initiating resolutions meant to create positive change on Mercer’s campus.
The SGA senators meet weekly throughout the year to, according to Mercer’s website, “discuss issues and pass legislation to enhance student life on campus.” The spring 2022 meetings will take place tentatively on Mondays at 6:30 p.m.
Samantha Homcy ‘23 is a junior at Mercer majoring in journalism and criminal justice. She has been working at The Cluster since her freshman year and served as Social Media Co-Manager during the spring 2021 semester. She is currently a practicum intern with WMAZ-TV. In her free time she enjoys music, community service, watching TV and finding new ways to get involved on Mercer’s campus.
