Only a third of the members of this year's Student Government Association executive cabinet were a part of the organization before accepting their leadership roles, making this year's SGA executive leadership one of the youngest in terms of SGA seniority.
Newly-elected president Chris Wilkey, a junior sales and economics major who had not been involved in SGA prior to campaigning for the presidency, said he chose cabinet members from outside the organization for a reason.
"If you start taking anybody out of senate, then you have no senators left," Wilkey said. "I did not want to draw from the pool of already dedicated people that are in there because they're already doing a great job."
The 10 members of Alliance's cabinet were presented before the senate and accepted Wednesday afternoon. Newly-installed parliamentarian Kevin Thurman said they could be joined by an 11th member soon.
"The position that's looking to be added is secretary of environmental affairs," Thurman, a junior telecommunications major, said. "That's a question Chris Wilkey and I have thrown around and hope to have resolved by the end of the week ... and brought to the senate floor by the end of the month."
Wilkey said he and his slate tried to select cabinet members with diverse backgrounds and people who are heavily involved on campus, but not so busy that they couldn't accept the time commitment SGA requires. He said cabinet members will meet weekly and strive to maintain clear channels of communication.
"I'm not sure if this has ever been done before, but our cabinet is going to be working very closely with us to help us [accomplish] our platform points," Wilkey said. "It's going to be their job to work with us, to talk to the administration that need to be talked to, to find volunteers to work with the events, to make sure that we have everything possible to get our platforms done -ยก- and so it's successful, and not us just doing it to do it."
There was some controversy surrounding the appointment of junior Tyler Sanders as secretary of justice. Wilkey said some senators were concerned about negative statements Sanders may have made in past years about student government.
He said he has met with both Sanders and some of the doubtful senators and is satisfied that the comments, if they were made, can be forgotten and a fresh start will be made.
"Tyler, if he did say stuff, has realized what he said and is trying to make an effort to change it for the better," Wilkey said. "The fact that he wanted a position and he had a specific one he was interested and excited for and already had some ideas - that shows me that he was taking what he thought was wrong with SGA and is working to fix it."
Sanders, who served as the deputy campaign manager for Alliance, said the rumors probably arose from initial expressions of hesitancy he made about joining the organization. He said that since getting involved with the campaign and learning more about SGA, he's eager to bring his outsider's prospective to the table and see how he can help revitalize the SGA judicial system.
"When I'm not in an organization, I'm like, 'No, I don't want to be in the organization.' Then I hop in it and it's the passion of my life," Sanders said. "Now that I'm in it, it's awesome. I'm like, 'Let's do this.'"
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