Late Friday night, on the terrace of the Upper Quad behind Cater Hall, Owen Beaverstock was announced the next president of Auburn University’s SGA. After the results of all the other campus elections held on February 7th were declared, the final word on Beaverstock’s candidacy was delivered by a member of the SGA election council to hundreds of students who had turned out to support their favored candidates.
Beaverstock’s win marks the end of a weeklong whirlwind campaign and the yearlong tenure of his predecessor in the role, Jack Hilton. His campaign’s slogan — ‘Be Better With Beaverstock’ — suddenly seemed ubiquitous around Auburn and wound up pulling in a plurality of 5,303 votes, 62.06% of the presidential vote total.
Beaverstock says his campaign was intended to honor his late friend and fraternity brother, Will Romanowski. Asked how he thought Romanowski would feel about the win, Beaverstock responded, “His parents are here in the crowd tonight, I know he’s proud, they told me he’s proud. That makes me really happy.”
Inspired by Romanowski’s example, Beaverstock, a junior in political science, ran on a platform promoting three main areas of improvement. “Better Relationships, Better Family, and Better Place” was a common refrain for the campaigners. Many of the specific proposals included in the categories are standard fare for SGA elections, like elevating service and championing new dining options. Still, many proposals, like advocation for favorable weighting of in-state applicants by Auburn University admissions, were more novel.
“We preached all week about how we were trying to get out and serve students, so the next step is to get out and do it. We’re gonna relax this weekend and then Monday we’re gonna get to work,” Beaverstock said about moving his vision into reality.
Beaverstock is a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity — where he is the Executive Recorder and Director of Member Development — and spent a summer interning for Alabama’s senior U.S. senator and former Auburn University football coach, Tommy Tuberville.
Beaverstock has been affiliated with SGA since getting involved with Freshman Forum. In the intervening years, he has risen to SGA cabinet positions like Assistant Vice President of Athletics and Assistant Director of Organizational Seating Program.
“It feels weird. I’m excited passing the torch, getting to talk through everything we accomplished this year, but also setting things up for next year,” said Jack Hilton regarding his feelings about the presidential transition.
He added that he was proud of the accomplishments of his term and the closeness of his team.
“He’s a strong leader, people gravitate towards him, but he’s also really humble. I’d say that’s a big thing that you can really mark him as. He’s a really humble and kind guy,” Hilton said about his successor.
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