Student Government Association candidates will give speeches at 5 p.m. today on the patio outside of Octagon, or the Fireside Lounge in Moseley, depending on rain. SGA will then post the speeches online at www.elon.edu/sga.

SGA elections will run next week from 9 a.m. on Feb. 20 to 5 p.m. on Feb. 21. Winners will be announced at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Fireside Lounge.

SGA is made up of four councils: the Executive Council, including the executive president, vice president, treasurer and secretary; the At-large Council, which has the presidents, vice presidents, treasurers, secretaries and senators from every class; the Academic Council, which represents each school at Elon; and the Organization Council, which represents Elon’s extracurricular clubs and organizations. There are 60 senators in SGA.

The current Executive Council is made up of President Michael Bumbry, Vice President Dave Morrow, Treasurer Garrett Kachellek and Secretary Sarah Shupp.

Next week, students will campaig for positions as executive officers, class officers and academic chairs.

SGA adviser and Associate Dean of Student Life Jana Lynn Patterson advised candidates to campaign from positions of honor and integrity without slandering other candidates or using any kind of negative tactics.

Most SGA candidates choose to campaign using Elon-friendly tactics such as writing on sidewalks with chalk, passing out flyers and creating Facebook groups.

All candidates have a budget they must follow, controlling the total amount of money students spend on their campaign. Several of the candidates are political science majors.

Candidates must meet certain base requirements, including a 2.5 minimum cumulative GPA and good social standing with the university, meaning the candidate cannot be on disciplinary probation.

Thursday’s speeches and the SGA constitution can be accessed at http://org.elon.edu/sga/archives.html.

News Editor: Alyse Knorr - 02/15/07