The Miller-Shelvin campaign is in full swing after announcing their candidacy on Jan. 23.
Elijah Miller, criminal justice junior, is running for student body president with Emari Shelvin, nursing and Spanish junior.
Miller is a second-year senator and is currently vice president of the Texas College Democrats and an active member of Black Student Association.
Shelvin’s experience includes serving as a Student Government senator, working as a peer mentor and remaining an active member of Filipino Student Association and Black Student Alliance. Last year, Shelvin ran with Russell Boyd, against current Student Body President Connor Clegg and former Vice President Colton Duncan.
Shelvin said she is back in the running because she feels obligated to serve her university and advocate for student interests
“I am running because I am ready and willing to be an advocate for all students on campus,” Shelvin said. “I’d like to bring visibility to all of the student body and take that to the administrative level.”
Working with university administration while still representing students is something Miller said he feels confident about.
“I don’t plan on wavering when it comes to students,” Miller said.
The Miller-Shelvin campaign has a 12-point platform that focuses on a wide variety of issues consisting of some policies that were not passed by the student senate last semester. There are a few points that Miller believes are important to highlight.
After the failed student senate vote last semester to hire an on-campus immigration attorney, Miller said he will press the issue in office.
“This is something I’ve been thinking of since freshman year,” Miller said. “Having (allies in) other student leaders is how we can have good organization of students”.
Providing feminine hygiene products by partnering with third-party organizations Period Project and Aunt Flow is a goal Miller said he has for his term. Miller said these products should more accessible to students by making them available in on-campus public restrooms. One option Miller proposed for funding could come from the student government budget.
“I have never had a black professor,” Miller said. “Having a push to recruit underrepresented faculty and staff is very important.”
Including faculty and staff that can better relate to a diverse Texas State student body is something that Miller looks to address. One approach Miller cites is through the recruitment of professors from underrepresented places such as the Rio Grande Valley in order to relate to students from the valley better.
Other issues that Miller and Shelvin plan to address include on-campus transportation, funding for the recycling program Bobcat Blend, creating 24-hour study areas, outreach toward underrepresented communities, reviewing the Title IX process and addressing the white supremacist flyers that have been posted on campus over the past two years.