By Holly Gaskill & Rayce Patterson | Echo News Co-Editors
Election week is in full swing.
Starting on Wednesday and continuing until April 3, candidates are marketing, meeting with students and discussing their potential plans for the student body.
Candidates for student body president and vice president are Kylie Gerber and Thaddeus VanOverberghe, Anders Soderquist and Tali Valentine and Luke Rovenstine and Lily Walter.
According to their website, Gerber and VanOverberghe are running under the hopes to address better communication between administration and students, Title IX and consent awareness, vulnerability involving the LTC, campus parking, inclusivity in student leadership and mental health. Ultimately, the pair said they're seeking not to be the voice of Taylor students, but to empower the voice of students.
Additionally, VanOverberghe said he and Gerber want to encourage students to be united as the body of Christ in all differences: personality, background, opinion, views, struggles, sin and others.
"Let us be the body of Christ whose commonality is the love of God and whose individuality is life-giving," VanOverberghe said.
Soderquist and Valentine are basing their campaign after Micah 6:8, which they've phrased, "Do Justice, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly." They're running in hopes of improving communication between students and student representatives, administrative transparency and the value of diversity on campus.
As a pair, they believe their experiences across campus will allow them to be connected with the student and body and express different perspectives.
"We believe we have been uniquely equipped to engage tough conversations about issues we have heard - divisiveness, division, marginalized voices - these concepts all come up if you listen," Valentine said. "We believe that Taylor University can be a space for colorful, constructive dialogue. We care deeply about bringing together diverse voices."
Rovenstine and Walter are campaigning to start a better discourse about campus issues. Rovenstine said he and Walter appreciate Taylor as a whole but would like to be facilitators for growth and improvement. They also plan to improve communication between administration and students.
"This school has meant a lot to me and I really want to, not really sit on the sidelines and watch Taylor just continue and continue and continue, but I really want to incite change so that I can direct it towards a place in which students and faculty alike are bringing ideas to the table in order make Taylor a better place that involves more participation on both sides," Rovenstine said.
A public forum was held last night 6 p.m. to interview candidates.
On April 2, the candidates will host a meet and greet in the atrium of the La Rita Boren Student Center. Candidates will be available to answer questions about their platforms and their plans at Taylor while pancakes are served.
Election voting will run from midnight to 11:59 p.m. on April 3. Results will be available on April 4.
