Collegiate Times

Since breaking into student government under the tutelage of then-SGA president Brant Snyder, askSGA vice presidential candidate Sarah Saxton has spent myriad hours on community service events.

She now describes herself as a coordinator for her ticket's executive committee aspirations, ?merging? the attributes of fellow candidates: James Tyger, presidential candidate and junior human resources management major; Kellie Gleeson, secretary candidate and junior marketing major; and Derek Jones, candidate for treasurer and sophomore marketing major.

?James is very much the planner, he sets the agenda; Kellie is very good about details; Derek will do anything you need him to; I'm merging a lot of those? I reflect on things,? said Saxton, a junior marketing major.

Saxton's most difficult SGA task to date may very well have been picking up the duties of Speaker of the Senate when junior psychology major Heather Wright stepped down at the end of last semester.

?You have to know parliamentary procedure, which (Wright) had a whole summer to learn. I had to learn in two days,? Saxton said.

In order to achieve her ticket's aims, Saxton says it is vitally important for SGA to continue its growth by allowing that ?we can do a lot on our own, but if we loop in other organizations we'll be much more successful.?

Jones is the recipient of such past outreach activity, entering SGA as a representative for a fraternity that to that point had had no representation. In Gleeson's eyes, the campaign has brought about a different side of Jones.

?Over the past couple weeks campaigning, I've completely seen him 180. Before this election, he was scared to talk to people ? through this campaign I've really seen him come into his own,? Tyger said.

Gleeson, as the first member asked to join the ticket by Tyger, played a vital role in helping the presidential hopeful select the other two candidates for the ticket. She hopes to transfer the skills gleaned in improving relationships between different branches of the SGA as director of membership development to promoting the organization both to the rest of the school and the town of Blacksburg.

?I'll be promoting and making a name for SGA in our community, trying to get it out there, and marketing it,? said Gleeson, citing the debate between the two executive tickets this year as an example of an event where attendance was sub-par.

Each candidate echoed remarks regarding the need to wed their involvement in the SGA to their ticket's vision to alter the direction of the organization.

?A VP really needs to have passion about the position, and if you don't have a vision, then what's the point of having a passion?? Saxton said in a debate with the opposing Golden Ticket on March 23, 2006.

No matter what the outcome, Gleeson believes the success of the current administration and two-year SGA President Sumeet Bagai will be difficult to replicate.

?Sumeet's left his mark on it and it's going to be a tough act to follow,? Gleeson said.