Ingalls Tapped to Lead SGA for '09-'10

The results are in! Student Government Association elections were held last week and the winners for next year's group have been announced. Among new positions, a new student body president has been elected for the upcoming year. Philip Cable and Andrew Ingalls were the two candidates for this position, with Ingalls being selected by the student body as the upcoming president of SGA. Ingalls is a junior from Ooltewah, TN. He is a political science/pre-law major and also involved with Spanish and history. His interests include participating in intramurals, playing capture the flag, watching Alabama football, playing the guitar, and going to camp-outs.

President-elect Ingalls said his main objective is "to improve communication between the Carson-Newman Administration and its students."

"Many students here feel out of the loop when it comes to decisions made at Carson-Newman and I feel the best way to remedy this problem is to hold more forums and open up lines of communication," said Ingalls.

Ingalls also wants to do more activities through SGA relating to campus life.

"The weight room is in bad shape and I believe that improving its condition is one small thing that would have a large impact on the students of this school," said Ingalls.

The Vice President position was debated between Tim Stewart and Joel Smith, with Smith winning the election. Smith is a junior computer information major from Staunton, VA. During this election, a number of cabinet positions were also open, but candidates were unopposed. The following people have been selected to serve in next year's SGA: Sarah Purkey (Treasurer), Katie Chase (Chief Justice), Brad Keaton (Secretary of Campus Life), Brad Qualls (Secretary of Projects and Services), and Mandy Branch (Secretary of Public Relations).

Purkey is a political science major from London, England. She enjoys traveling, tanning, texting, scrap booking, and playing basketball. Chase is a history/political science major from Kingsport, TN. She enjoys reading and being a part of the XAE sorority on campus. Keaton is an undeclared major from Knoxville, TN. SGA is his main extracurricular activity. Qualls is a history/German major from Spring City, TN. His special interests include participating in intramurals, playing the Wii, reading, and playing the guitar. Branch is the current student body president of SGA.

"I promise as Secretary of Campus Life to plan forums of student interest that will allow the student body to be better informed and to give their input on how we can be a better campus. My intentions are to get students excited about the fact that they go to Carson-Newman and to have pride in their school," said Keaton.

The elections also gave students an opportunity to vote for their class officers. Cameron Wilson was selected as junior class president and Logan McDaniel, Tyler Engle, and Jessie Hayden were chosen as junior class senators. These positions also went unopposed.

There are still a number of positions available within SGA and all the class offices (except for the juniors) have yet to be filled. Elections will be held again in the fall. Typically the fall election is just for freshmen, but with vacant positions, anyone can run and be elected for these slots to be filled.