Brandon Straker '25, known as B Striker, has been selected as Middlebury's next SGA president. Stryker, along with vice presidents Talia Chan, 26, and Daniza Tazabekova, 26, defeated rival Josh Harkins, 25, and vice presidential candidates Freddie Mitchell, 25, and Ahmed Awadalla, 26, by 32 votes in three days. It broke. From April 11th to April 13th, the SGA presidential election was the closest in at least seven years.
In the SGA presidential election, 46.7% of eligible students (1,372 out of 2,938 undergraduate students) voted. Mr. Stryker received 657 votes and Mr. Harkins received 625 votes, representing 47.9% and 45.5% of the vote, respectively. Ninety students, or 6.6% of voters, chose neither candidate.
Stryker is a first-generation college student from Washington, DC. He studied abroad at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS) in Monterey in the fall and is currently studying abroad in Spain.
SGA has set a turnout target of 70.2%. Although actual turnout fell short of this goal, the percentage of students who voted this year was higher than in his SGA presidential election last year, with approximately 44% of eligible students voting.
Candidates who ran in February's senatorial elections, Islam Abushalea 26.5 and Nathalie Frankel 27.5, and Güler Aycicek 27 and Anina Dentelfam 27 in the second senatorial election, did not vote. I was a candidate.
Five candidates ran for Junior Senate, with Joshua Gerson, 26, and Anna Miller, 26, winning in the fall semester, and Brian Harris, 26, and Claudia Lopez, 26, winning in the spring semester. Three candidates ran for the senior senator position, with current SGA Vice Presidents Fanta Diop '25 and Tara Masri '25 winning.
Stryker spoke positively about his campaign and election experience.
“It felt like a very friendly game, because at the end of the day we both had the mindset that we were part of each other's team,” said the striker. “We had the same goal, the only question was who the students wanted to vote for.”
He and his running mate emphasized a focus on four areas: community, access, health, and transparency. After winning the race, Stryker spoke to The Campus about the issues he plans to prioritize during his term as president.
Regarding the goal of strengthening the Middlebury community, he discussed working with the Middlebury College Activities Committee and fostering positive relationships between students and staff.
“We just need to learn to appreciate our staff,” Stryker said. “Also, it might be a good idea to have something like a staff appreciation day.”
Other community-building measures Stryker discussed throughout his campaign include organizing class meetings and dinners, relaunching a program he created called 4Meals that helps students meet new people while eating, and more. These included sponsoring facilitated conversations, planning more school-wide events, and bridging athletes into the extraordinary. -Dividing athletes.
Stryker believes building a strong community is the foundation for all the other improvements he hopes to make at Middlebury.
“What we have access to will open up because we have a stronger community,” he says.
Regarding student health, Stryker said he plans to make classrooms more accessible and work with counseling services to ensure students receive appropriate support. He described this as “maximizing efficiency and strengthening infrastructure.”
He also aims to improve student health by diversifying dining options in the cafeteria, especially between 2:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., and promoting healthier late-night dining options at Grill and Mid Express. I intend on doing it.
The striker emphasized the team's goal to be transparent about all decisions taken by SGA.
“We want the student body to know that we just want to have really, really open communication,” Stryker said.
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Stryker anticipates it may be difficult to involve students in SGA activities, noting that just under 50% of students voted in this election. He wants to get students more involved in his SGA by being open about what they're working on and prioritizing community-building events.
“Another challenge is to make everyone happy with the decisions we have made,” he added.
Stryker and the vice presidents plan to use a survey to ask the student body what changes they would like to see.
“We want to represent what the students want. But some students want this, some students want that, and the goal is to advocate for what the majority wants,” Stryker said. he said. “Definitely send out a survey…and actually get some of the things that the majority want.”
Vice President-elect Chan and Tazabekova spoke to The Campus about their campaign and plans for their new roles. They expressed gratitude for Mr. Stryker's involvement in what is happening on campus in his absence and spoke optimistically about their cooperation next year.
Mr. Chang is passionate about the changes his team is planning for student health.
“What I'm really looking forward to is working with the Disability Resource Center, DRC, and faculty to make our classrooms more accessible to students,” Chan said.
She wants to require subtitles on videos shown in the classroom and create guidelines that give students more flexibility if they need to miss class due to extenuating circumstances.
Tazabekova emphasized community building as a priority for next year. “When you have a strong sense of community, you have better respect across campus, you treat people with respect and kindness, you have better accessibility, which leads to better health and transparency on campus.” “Connect with the administration,'' she said.
The team said applications for SGA ministerial positions will open this week and anyone can apply.
Harkins reflected on his campaign experience in a video posted April 16 on his campaign Instagram page. “Congratulations to the B Strikers on their campaign. You all ran a great campaign,” Harkins said in the video. “Thank you Freddy and Ahmed for being great partners on this campaign and providing great ideas. Thank you to everyone who supported us.”
Ultimately, Stryker said, his and his vice presidents' job is to serve the student body.
“We are here for our students,” Stryker said. “This is a win for the whole school and we are really looking forward to the future.”
Susanna Schatz ’24 (she/her) is a senior news editor.
She previously served as local editor, staff writer and visual artist for The Campus. She is majoring in English and minoring in Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies.
Susannah is a social media and marketing intern at Treeline Terrains, a small business started by Midd Alums. In her free time, she can be found outdoors in Vermont hiking, swimming, and skiing, reading on her Adirondack chair, and painting landscapes.
