By Ella Grady, Guest Writer

Tyrae Walker and Ivan Colmenares were elected president and vice president of the Student Government Association (SGA) last week, edging the ticket of Nick Watts and Kathryn Cohen by just 15 votes.

“We want to thank and congratulate Nick Watts and Kathryn Cohen on running an amazing race,” president-elect Walker said. 

Walker, a junior public relations and theology major from Canal Winchester, Ohio, has been involved on Xavier’s campus as a Resident Assistant (RA), TRIO Scholar and as the founder president of “All for JC,” a bible study group that provides students the opportunity to grow in  their faith. He has also served two years as the ecumenical peer minister in the Center for Faith and Justice (CFJ). 

Colmenares, a junior political science major from Houston, Texas, parallels Walker in heavy Xavier involvement as the president of HOLA (Hispanic Organization and Latinx Awareness), a TRIO Scholar and RA. He currently interns with Seth Walsh, who on Tuesday was re-elected to the Cincinnati City Council.

Walker and Colmenares will assume the executive ticket at the end of the fall semester, from 2025 SGA President Jake Galvan and Vice President Nick Watts.

“We are extremely honored that we have this opportunity. We understand that it’s (the SGA Executive Ticket) important work, that it’s great work, and that we are not here to just sit on our behinds,” Walker said “We are really going to ensure that we amplify every voice by speaking on what really matters to Musketeers.”

“We had a lot of support from people with amazing ideas to get us to where we are. We want to then send that forward and hopefully provide paths and opportunities where people can feel a lot more connected on campus,” Colmenares said. 

This Executive Ticket brings an uncommon background to the race. Walker meets the requirement that at least one running mate must have served as an SGA Senator for at least one year, a milestone he will reach as he begins his term in January 2026. Colmenares has never been a member of SGA, until now. Traditionally, both candidates have been a part of SGA prior to them running.

“The starting point for the entire campaign was where we both had a lot of shared experiences throughout our clubs,” Colmenares said. “Last spring, my club was heavily affected by SGA. Tyrae and I realized how important it is to stay connected with these people. It’s important that we’re bringing our experiences with how it feels being on the opposite side into the experience of SGA. That gives us the more student view, instead of just the logistical view.” 

At the heart of their campaign was a focus on amplifying the student voice. Their plans include promoting transparency in club funding, improving Wi-Fi connectivity, increasing access to student parking, creating more opportunities to connect with alumni and enhancing campus safety. 

A major highlight of their campaign is the plan to bring back town hall meetings—an on-campus tradition that paused after the COVID-19 pandemic. These town hall meetings, proposed to be named “State of the Semester,” would have SGA and Xavier leadership break down major university updates on campus, taking from internal and external projects, spending and construction. This would provide students the opportunity to ask real questions in real time – with answers directly from the source.

“We’re talking about amplifying the student voice by having town-hall meetings. You have students who have these opinions who want to voice them, but there was no real place that they were going to actually be able to directly ask or question leadership,” Walker said.  

“These are big things that we want to do, and it’s going to take a lot of work. It’s going to take a lot of effort, but we want to ensure that we plant the seeds, so they (their proposed policies) get done,” Walker said.