By: Tatum Hunter ~Editor-in-Chief~

This year’s Student Government Association (SGA) executive election will take place this week, starting at 8 a.m. Oct. 21 and ending at 4 p.m. Oct. 22.

All students can vote online at http://www.xavier.edu/election during the specified voting time.

This is the first year that SGA executive elections have been held in the fall instead of the spring semester. Executive terms will now be organized by calendar year instead of academic year.

There is one ticket running for office, consisting of presidential candidate Caleb Mickler, legislative vice presidential candidate Michael Quigley and administrative vice presidential candidate Kiana Salazar. In order to take office, this ticket must receive more than 50 percent of votes cast. In past years, voter turnout for SGA executive elections has hovered at about 30 percent.

SGA executives perform many roles, including determining the funding of all campus clubs and organizations, in conjunction with SGA Senate.

Caleb-Quigley-Kiana (CQK), as the ticket calls itself, advocates transparency within SGA and engagement with the communities surrounding Xavier. Its proposals include requiring SGA Senators to sit in on club meetings and replacing conduct-violation fines with community service hours.

Its official platform is available on the Newswire’s website, and the ticket has published its mission statement and a summary of its main goals on its Facebook page. The candidates said they want students to know that their platform is fluid and can change to reflect students’ wishes and concerns.

The Newswire, in conjunction with the Board of Elections, hosted a public panel discussion with the candidates on Oct. 20 in lieu of the usual debate. The candidates discussed their platform and took questions from students in attendance.

The official Newswire ticket evaluation can be found on page 8 of this issue.