Incumbent Student Body President Matt Jarvis and Vice President Emily Kinner will face off against presidential candidate Alex Parlock and vice presidential candidate Daniel Parlock in the 2017 student government election.

Alex Parlock is an economics and finance major running for the office of student body president. According to Alex, he was inspired to run again for student body president a second time because of the lack of involvement from the Marshall community in different areas. He said he believes a real difference can be made. Alex said he would use this platform to get better communication throughout campus to connect students and keep them informed. He also said he wants to see the university come together more with the city of Huntington

What do you want the student body to know about you personally?

I would just like the student body to know that we are go-getters. We get stuff done. When we say we are going to do something, we’re going to get it done. We don’t like to stay stagnant. We are always thinking of new ideas and how to improve the life of the students here at Marshall.

Was there something specific that inspired you to run?

I have ran once before a couple of years ago and wasn’t successful, but I came back and I’m going to give it another shot. I think we can do a better job than what has been done if we just get the chance.

What plans do you have if you are elected?

We would also like to get better communication between the activities that are going on and the student population. We would really like to implement a couple message boards throughout campus just to kind of be like, “hey, here’s what’s going on.” Digital message boards between here and the dorms would be a good spot, people walking back and forth to class so they can see what’s going on that week. Then they could say, “Hey, do you want to go do this?” It’s right there in front of us, you can’t miss it.

What do you believe is the biggest issue that Marshall is facing and how do you plan to combat it?

I think that a big problem is students, and the surrounding community, and how they feel of their security here and just involvement throughout the community. You see all these instant text messages about shootings and stabbings, and robberies happen all the time right here, within two blocks of here in the past month or two. I just think that if we get campus involvement in the community and kind of collaborate that and work with the mayor more. Like the last couple of years ago and last year, we had Coffee with the Mayor and we would like to see that get a little more interactive there and just bring the whole community together and kind of make a stance.

Who is your vice president and why did you choose them?

There is no one I trust more than my little brother here. We served in the army together. We grew up together. I know I would put my life in his hands and I do. There’s no one I could trust more than my little brother here.

Is there anything I haven’t asked that you believe the student body should know?

I’m married, I live off campus, he’s (Daniel, his running mate), even though he’s dating, he’s still single and lives on campus and so we see a whole different crowd. I do more with the nontraditional students; he’s with more traditional students. We also have two younger brothers, believe it or not, that go here as well. Both are running for senate seats. One is an athlete and then the other one lives off campus as well. We have kind of got it all spread out here.

Kylee Hurley can be contacted at [email protected].