Candidates for Student Government executive positions addressed the student body at an April 7 debate in Carswell Hall. Around 75 students attended the debate to hear from those aspiring to be Student Body President, Speaker of the House, Secretary and Treasurer for the 2026-2027 school year.

Voting opens April 9 on the Link and closes at noon on April 10. Student Government will post election results on April 10.

Running for Student Body President: Ayden Boucher and Gray Lowder 

Junior Senator Ayden Boucher drew from his experience as a walk-on student athlete competing for the Wake Forest Track and Field Team.

“It has been such a blessing to represent in the uniform, and now, hopefully, in the suit,” he said.

Boucher shared that his top priority is to connect with the student body and to serve as a “bridge” between students and university administration.

“I want to be a face that people can see and rely on and believe in,” Boucher said.

He said he would host weekly check-ins on Manchester Plaza, akin to Vice President for Campus Life Dr. Shea Kidd Brown’s “Milkshake Monday” events. He added that as president, he would stay active on social media to communicate his goals with students.

“I promise to maintain the ‘Ayden for Wake’ Instagram and keep it going with regular updates about what is going on in Student Government, because I know one of the biggest complaints is that people don’t know what’s going on,” Boucher said.

Junior Senator Gray Lowder said he would pursue three primary initiatives if elected: create an off-campus housing registry listing properties close to campus, organize a charitable drive supporting student organizations and host a “Pitch Perfect”-style riff-off competition with acapella groups and other performing ensembles on campus next semester. 

He expressed confidence in his ability to accomplish each of these goals.

“I don’t want anybody to get the idea that these are not things I could absolutely do,” Lowder said. “What you’re seeing is what you’re getting.”

Lowder added that he is passionate about partnering with other student leaders as well as with the general student body.

Running for Speaker of the House: Harper Lindsay and Beck Riedell

Sophomore Harper Lindsay represented Luter Hall as a freshman senator and currently serves as co-chair of the Academic Committee. She said she wishes to improve Student Government’s efficiency and focus. 

“I want to shorten our time that we spend on committee reports, and focus more on the discussion where things actually get done,” Lindsay said.

She added that she would work to make Student Government an enjoyable and rewarding endeavor for all involved.

“The most productive time in Student Government is when we find what people are passionate about and get them paired with those projects,” Lindsay said.

She emphasized the professional development opportunities in Student Government and said she will work to improve collaboration and communication among university administration, the Faculty Senate, Student Government and the student body. 

“As Speaker of the House, that would be meeting with senators, whether it be their first year or their last, and finding out how to make these skills that we’re gaining every day for our involvement resume-able, and how to speak with administrators,” Lindsay said.

Freshman Beck Riedel serves as Student Government’s dining liaison.

“Things like Bento [Old Gold options], impacts on the ‘Quesadacon,’ and other things, I feel like I’ve really gotten to see my work and my committee’s work have a real impact,” Riedel said. “I want to continue doing that as Speaker of the House.” 

He said he wants to make Student Government a welcoming environment. 

“I want to make sure Senate feels like… a family,” he said. “And somewhere that I can talk about any issue, can bring up any solution and I won’t be judged for it.”

Riedel added that he would expand outreach to underclassmen.

“I think freshmen are the future of the Senate,” he said. “I think that we need to make sure that freshmen… not only know one another, but also know the inner workings of every committee.”

Running for Secretary: Lacy February and Cate Hardin

Junior Senator Cate Hardin said she would work to increase attendance at Student Government meetings and expand its social media presence.

“I think that putting faces to names, that’s the easiest way to increase accessibility and create comfortability between the student body and student government,” Hardin said.

Pointing to her experience as Director of Marketing for Alpha Kappa Psi, Hardin added she would like to create a newsletter for Student Government.

“I have experienced writing a weekly newsletter for the brothers every single week,” Hardin said. “I would be more than happy to do it again with the Student Government to better communicate different initiatives.”

Junior Lacy February highlighted her interpersonal skills.

“I think I’m a good communicator because I’m a good listener,” February said. “I listen to understand and comprehend what the speaker is trying to convey.”

February added that as secretary, she would post Senate meeting minutes to the Student Government website. 

“It is important that students get a raw and uncut version of what’s going on in Student Government,” February said.

Running for Treasurer: Michael Gourlias

Junior Michael Gourlias is running unopposed for the position of treasurer. 

“I haven’t been a part of Student Government before, but I’ve interfaced with it from the other side,” Gourlias said. “I’ve been a club treasurer managing a budget across two years, which is in total more than $60,000.”

Gourlias said he will increase diversity on the Student Budget Advisory Committee (SBAC), which allocates funding to chartered student organizations.

“A large committee of diverse students from across campus gives us many perspectives, and it allows us to hear many perspectives on funding,” Gourlias said. “So that when a club comes in, you’ll have students who understand… how this money would affect this club and affect the campus as a whole.”

Gourlias added that he will hold office hours to help student leaders navigate the SBAC funding application.

“We want to ensure that these clubs understand what they can work with with their funding,” Gourlias said.

Voters react

Senior Tiffany Lin said she “definitely” knew who she will vote for after hearing the candidates speak.

“This is my last year, but I still wanted to vote and have an educated vote through coming here and hearing everyone’s thought processes,” Lin said.

Junior Annika Howie said the opposite.

“I came into the debate pretty much knowing who I was going to vote for, but now I’m not totally sure,” Howie said. “So we’ll see what happens.”

Editor’s note (4/12): An earlier version of this article misattributed a quote from Ayden Boucher to Gray Lowder. The quote has been removed.