Candidate statement: SGA vice president runs for president

We are Akheem Mitchell (‘23), running for president of the Student Government Association (SGA), and Sendy Sejourne (‘23), running for vice-president. We want to take this time to say thank you for supporting our campaign thus far. Placing the needs of the students and making them a priority in our platform reaffirms the mission of our campaign: to break barriers and build a future.

As we enter the campaigning season, remembering the concerns of students is most important. We have spent weeks learning more about the student body and, using their shared personal experience, we have been able to pinpoint the areas in which improvement is needed upon our campus. For example, several students have mentioned mental health awareness and advocacy inside and outside the classroom is needed. Others have mentioned wanting financial transparency within the college, and for the classroom environment to be diverse and inclusive.

These are only surface-level problems and, similar to a garden with overgrown weeds, we want to push through the institutional barriers that hold Rollins College from being an inclusive and welcoming community for all. In the upcoming weeks, you all will get a chance to learn more about each candidate and our leadership experience. To give background, I currently serve as the vice-president of SGA, the vice-president of Black Student Union, and am a resident assistant in Cross Hall. Sendy is the health promotions intern at the Wellness Center, a Wellness ambassador, associate justice in SGA, an Academic Honor Council member, a Hamilton Holt peer mentor, and the professional development officer for Rollins Rotaract.

We will use our knowledge from past organizational and leadership roles and apply it to advocate for the student’s voice.

To the students of Rollins College: We are fighting for you. We will place you first. We value your voice—which is why we will break barriers to build a future.

The opinions on this page do not necessarily reflect those of The Sandspur or Rollins College.

Have a differing or additional opinion? Send us your response. We want to hear your voice.