Just past 7 p.m. on Feb. 6th, on the terrace found behind Cater Hall, Willis Orr was announced the next president of Auburn University’s Student Government Association (SGA). The official announcement of Orr’s victory was made by a member of the SGA election council in front of the filled Upper Quad lawn. This came after the results for the rest of the candidates were revealed, including Vice President Lilly Pool and Treasurer Jackson Morse.
With his campaign slogan “FORRWARD with ORR,” Orr, a junior in business analytics, garnered 68% of the total votes for this year’s election, a wide margin noted by an SGA election official. Orr’s opponent in the race, Landen Childress, received 2,558 votes to Orr’s 5,451. The voter turnout was 29.68% of the 33,513 eligible student voters for the 2026 election cycle.
Orr, a former SGA cabinet assistant vice president of university operation, SGA cabinet director of organizational seating program and SGA freshman forum participant, rallied his supporters throughout the week. Orr's victory tonight concludes the weeklong campaign process that he said on Tuesday's debate night, may ultimately be moved from the high traffic concourses to places like the Campus Green or Cater Lawn.
In the spirit of moving forward, Orr acknowledges in his platform that Auburn is expanding at a rapid rate, and with that he wants to move Auburn into the future, while also preserving what makes us the “Loveliest Village on the Plains.”
He intends to work with the administration to establish enrollment targets, and while doing that, keep the current parking and housing situations at the forefront of those discussions. Orr also believes in protecting the classroom experience by voicing his support for low student-to-faculty ratios and leveraging Auburn’s alumni network to bring premier opportunities to campus. In that same vein, Orr is calling for a transformation increase in merit-based scholarships to reward current and future Auburn students.
As someone who believes in the value of tradition and history, Orr wants to preserve Auburn’s architectural character for any new construction, and also advocates for the Samford Hall Tower to become Auburn’s primary academic logo. On a more seasonal note, Orr wants to launch a campus-wide holiday decorations initiative with an emphasis on Christmas.
Lastly, Orr believes that through new partnerships between the Rec and Auburn Athletics, the student body will be able to foster deeper connections and form a better community with student athletes.
“Obviously, first thing we got to do is make a team. We are going to make that team by selecting people who have a strong work ethic and display an initiative [based mindset]. Exciting! The team [will then] make a set of goals for the year,” Orr said about his first order of attack for the start of his presidency.
Orr then states that the outgoing SGA president Owen Beaverstock has been a great mentor for him in the various roles that they have been able to serve together.
“He was my AVP when I was the director of block seating with OSP. And then [while serving as president,] he has just been a super great mentor. I met him my freshman year and, you know, he’s been one of the guys I’m closest to at Auburn,” Orr said.
Beaverstock, on the stage during the announcements of the elections callouts, notes how he can be someone Orr can look to for advice.
“I want to be a resource to Willis. Anyway that he wants me to help, I’m happy to be there alongside him. We’ve had an awesome year to learn a ton about how to do things well at Auburn, how to do things for students, and I’d love to give him any knowledge that I can,” Beaverstock said.
When the results of the election finally set in for Orr, he decided to thank all the people who made his decisive win a possibility, including his fraternity brothers and friends who attended the event and participated in the campaign.
“I would not be up here if it wasn’t for all of them. They rallied and they cared about me. They trusted me and they all got together [to support me]. I have 100% of this to thank them,” Orr said.
Despite his opponent, Childress, having notable endorsements from social media commentator and Auburn freshman, Brilyn Hollyhand, Orr remained confident in his campaign staff while complementing his opponent.
“I couldn’t have done it without the team. Landon [Childress] is a great guy, and I have always had a good relationship with him, but the team is the reason I am up here,” Orr said.
Trey Pritchett, a member of the crowd wearing a “FORRWARD with ORR” t-shirt and a sophomore in engineering, spoke on Orr’s leadership within his fraternity.
“Willis has always been a role model I can trust on and count on. In everything he does, he is a role model for us,” Pritchett said.
Outgoing president Owen Beaverstock had this to say about the new set of leaders crowned at the callouts.
“I am excited for this new crew. I think they’re going to do a really amazing job. It’s exciting for Auburn. I think [Auburn] students have exciting group of leaders supporting them, and then a great group of leaders that are guiding the University, also advocating for them too,” Beaverstock said.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
