Yet again, the halls of Hooper Academic building became coated with rivaling campaign posters and sparkling glitter, this time pasted on by candidates running for Senior Class Officer Positions for the upcoming school year.

The class officers are given the responsibility of planning class events such as meetings, T-shirts, and the graduation speaker while the SGA officers conduct weekly Senate meetings to help make changes to the handbook.

All week, the candidates have been striving to persuade their classmates why they would be worthy of a vote.

The candidates explained their varying reasons for running for each position.

Anjeli Hoskins, senior class treasurer candidate, said, “I was really concerned last year with the management of our junior class officers. Hopefully next year, I’ll make it better.”

The other candidate for treasurer, Ta’Kiya Moore, said, “Senior year, we’re already under pressure trying to graduate. Being a senior class officer, I want to be able to not put burden on our class with the expenses. Save money, live better.”

Candidates for class historian were Mary Owings and Calisa Henry.

Owings wanted to put her creative abilities to use to make MSMS a better, memorable place, while Henry wanted to be involved and be a leader for the junior class.

Running for senior class secretary were Allyson Espy and Steven Chung.

“I’m running so I can make our senior year sparkle. I want everyone’s help to help me better the senior class and we can do this together,” expressed Espy while Chung stated, “I’m running for secretary because they have to organize things and I’ve really improved in organizing things.”

Candidates for class vice president were Reagan Conner and Keegan Lindsey.

“I’m running because I’ve had this position before in my old school and I enjoy student Government. I like the idea of designing the class t-shirt and making sure everyone’s voice is heard. I think it’ll be a good experience and I just want to make senior year easier for everyone,” said Conner.

Lindsey said, “The main reason I’m running is because I’ve noticed that our class in particular hasn’t done much and I think student government is something through which we can hope to change the direction of things we are going. I want to be part of that change.”

Jack Sparkman, Alana Andrus, and Hayden Stokley ran for the position of senior class president.

All running on a platform of togetherness and teamwork, they expressed desires to continue the flow of excellence that the current officers have kept.

Mayukh Datta, current senior class president, explained the importance of giving back to the school and continuing in these efforts.

“I know that the five class officers and the three SGA officers have worked hard throughout the year to create a legacy. The officers and I would like for that legacy to be carried on. I think the biggest way we can give back to the school is through small differences, so I hope everybody who is running does it because they want to give back to the school because that’s the most important reason,” said Datta. 

The positions available for student government were SGA president, SGA vice president, and SGA secretary.

Gary Nguyen, the candidate for SGA President, expressed his reason for running. “I am running for SGA president, and the reason that I wanted to run was because one of my biggest regrets this past year was not having positioned myself to help leave a lasting impact on MSMS. Initially, I didn’t truly appreciate MSMS for what it was, and consequently, it took me longer than most to see what the school had to offer outside of its realm of academics. Now that I have, I was compelled to believe, partially by my peers, that it was time for me to step outside my comfort zone and take on the responsibility of SGA president with the intention of amending my regret,” Nguyen said.

Harpreet Singh, SGA vice presidential candidate said, “I’m running because this school has done so much for me and I feel like I know I can’t repay anybody back for what they have done for me but I want to give back any way I can. I feel like serving as VP will help me step in that direction and I do hope to help make positive changes, which can affect the classes that come after us.”

The candidates running for SGA secretary were Mariana Strawn and Yousef Abu-Salah.

Abu-Salah wished to run in order to better both senate and the school while Strawn wanted to help run senate efficiently and smoothly next year.

Current SGA president, Jenny Nguyen, offered words on the efforts of the SGA officers and her hopes for the incoming officers.

“As SGA President, I have a cabinet and the cabinet is responsible for all elections, senior tribute, and this year we have focused on community service so we have done things like Little Bookworms, Jeans for Teens, and Operation Ukraine. I have high expectations for this upcoming class because I see some really good leaders in the candidates so I’m hoping for a great year next year,” Nguyen stated.

All candidates presented their speeches in front of their classmates in Hooper Auditorium on Wednesday, and voting took place on Thursday online. The following are the results for the 2017-2018 SGA and senior class officers: