Student President Has Big Plans

BY HANNAH MILLER

On Mar. 31, sophomore Ashley Nixon will be sworn in as UMW’s Student Government Association president.

As SGA president, Nixon’s two main goals are to increase school spirit and make student voices heard. Nixon said she wants to make SGA more visible and vocal, as she feels SGA is “the bridge between the student body and the administration.”

To increase school spirit, Nixon wants to reward students for frequent attendance to sports events. Punch cards would be used to mark the number of games a student attends and after receiving a certain number of punches on their card, students will be able to get free items such as a UMW t-shirt or hat.

Nixon said she feels Homecoming is the only time UMW has great turnout for sport events and she hopes the punch cards will increase attendance at every game.

“Everyone loves Mary Washington,” Nixon said. “It’s just a matter of showing it.”

Nixon said she plans to bring up the “everyday things people want” to the administration, like coffee machines in academic buildings. As the link between the student body and the administration, Nixon said she wants the SGA to be more approachable to students. Nixon encourages students to address their concerns to the student senate.
“The administration really does listen. They’re nice people,” Nixon said.

Nixon, a political science major, currently serves on the SGA executive cabinet.  She is also a member of Class Council and College Republicans as well as an orientation coordinator.

Nixon ran for SGA president because she really wanted to help make a difference at UMW, she said.

“With all this change, I feel like now is a time to make our voices heard,” Nixon said. “I love Mary Washington. I love the sense of community here. [I] definitely want to keep and uphold these principles as SGA president.”