Juniors Andrew Eby and Kelly Maguire are running for student body president and vice president, basing their campaign on using their experience to be the voice for the student body.

The two point to past involvement in SGA as a key reason why they would succeed if elected. Eby has been a part of SGA since his freshman year, serving on the Judicial Affairs Committee and as chairperson of SGA Ambassadors. Maguire has represented the School of Business as a student senator for two years and is currently the chair of the student senators, placing her on the SGA Executive Board.

“We really want to stress that we are the only ticket that both have at least two years of SGA experience and five years overall,” Eby said. “We know how to get things done. We could hit the ground running and not have to have that learning curve.”

However, the pair’s experience extends beyond these positions.

“We’re not just about SGA,” Maguire said.

Eby has served as treasurer of the Blue Key Society for two years, along with being a leader of a mission service experience and an active participant in intramurals.

Maguire has served as the co-philanthropy chair for the Blue Key Society and a facilitator for the Leadership Learning Community. Additionally, most students have probably seen Maguire’s ‘Nova Nation spirit in action, even though they may not know it.

“I was actually the Wildcat for about a year,” she said.

Eby and Maguire say they feel this diversity of involvement would help them to better represent student groups.Long-time friends, Eby and Maguire also feel their personalities complement each other in a manner that would enable them to handle both the behind-the-scenes organizational and face-to-face personal aspects of the positions. They want to ensure that students know what SGA is working on.

“When we go around door to door, we’re surprised by how many students are unaware of what SGA does,” Eby said.

Another component of their campaign is the creation of a new student leadership committee within SGA that would be open to all students. The two point out that with the competitive nature of large student organizations, many students are turned away from positions.

“If you want to be involved in a large student organization, you can be without the interview,” Maguire said.

Other specific plans include looking at reassessing the shuttle schedule, improving wireless Internet, adjusting the men’s basketball lottery to compensate students who study abroad and making professor evaluations more available.

The two have taken steps to ensure that the ideas of their platform can be achieved, meeting with various administrators.

“We want students to provide input into what we will do,” Eby said.

The two say they want to proceed with what the student body wants, which is why they have focused on creating goals that can be guided by student response.

In order to facilitate this communication between themselves and the student body, Eby and Maguire plan on continuing the spirit of their campaign if elected. The two have been going to residence halls and passing out lollipops at the Oreo – wearing their neon green campaign T-shirts – in order to meet students and hear their concerns.

“It shouldn’t just be for the 10 days we’re campaigning,” Maguire said.

“We really want to focus on being that voice for the students,” Eby said.