Jesse Westerhouse

Jesse Westerhouse, junior in finance, was involved in some of the largest SGA initiatives in recent memory — Tiger Scheduler, the Auburn Memorial project and the Mental Health Task Force. 

He believes his student government experience, along with his fraternity membership and service as a Plainsman, has prepared him for SGA presidency. 

"They've given me different perspectives about so many parts of campus," Westerhouse said.

SGA is already a great organization, Westerhouse said, but members could work to improve student perception.

"People either think we're pretentious or we don't do anything," Westerhouse said. "We need to show we're everyday students, and we just want to serve this campus."

Westerhouse also wants to work on diversity in SGA. 

"SGA, while it's an awesome organization in so many ways, isn't always representative of the student body," Westerhouse said. "I think it's extremely important so that when we talk to administrators, we can have full confidence that we are completely representative of students."

If he is elected, Westerhouse wants to work with department heads to ensure students know who is teaching each class while they register. 

"When students are registering for classes they shouldn't have to worry, 'Who the heck is my teacher going to be?' There are so many different teaching styles," Westerhouse said. "The teacher affects the class almost as much as the material does."

He also wants to renovate the old Student Activities Center to create an auditorium-style venue for organizations to host events. 

Currently, Westerhouse said, most organizations rely on the Student Center Ballroom or Auburn Arena. Those venues seat up to 650 people and 9,121 people, respectively. 

The Student Activities Center would provide a middle ground, with 1,200-1,500 seats. 

"It would save student organizations so much money," Westerhouse said.

Westerhouse also wants to work with the City Council to bring Uber back to Auburn. 

"Students who live off campus either have to pay $30 for a taxi, drive drunk or walk," Westerhouse said. "With Uber, you can pay $6 or $8 and you're home."

In addition to these new ideas, Westerhouse wants to finish the projects he's started. 

"I want to further the Auburn Memorial project," Westerhouse said. "And this mental health beast is not going away. This Task Force has been awesome, and there will be some really great proposals, but the stigma is still attached to it."