The Parthenon asked each presidential and vice-presidential candidate the same series of questions. Below are responses from Jeremiah Parlock who is running for student body president. 

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

A: I was born in Huntington, West Virginia, and cherished all of my youth here. I am the ninth child out of a family of ten, of which all the siblings before me attended Marshall University. I graduated from Cabell Midland High School where I served as Student Body President in 2016. I am a junior majoring in political science and minoring in constitutional democracy, business management and psychology. I am an Eagle Scout and attended many youth leadership camps such as HOBY and have returned to serve as a counselor at those leadership camps. I am currently involved in or have been involved in the Honors College Student Association, Student Government Association, Hall Council, Marshall Ultimate Frisbee Club, Orthodox Christian Fellowship, BCM, MU pre-law, and Presidential Ambassadors. The opportunities and memories that Marshall has given me since before I was in school are countless.

Q: Was there something specific that inspired you to run? 

A: My entire youth was filled with leadership camps that taught me how to be a good civil servant. This inspired me to set the goal of being the Student Body President of Marshall since I was in high school. I feel that I not only owe it to Marshall and to all of the students to help facilitate everyone enjoying what Marshall has to offer, but I also owe it to Marshall, the students, and the community, to improve and expand upon the “We Are Marshall” sentiment.

Q: What plans do you have if you are elected? 

A: We have five main platform goals we plan to implement in addition to all of the individual goals of each of our cabinet members

1. Increase Campus Engagement: We plan to create leadership symposiums with representatives from the over 220 clubs and organizations on campus.

2. Faculty Mentoring Program: We plan to create a volunteer faculty mentoring program for students seeking support and guidance.

3. Affordable and Increased Parking: We plan to decrease the cost of parking permits and tickets and expand parking availability.

4. Expanding Huntington Community Cooperation: We plan to expand student discount programs with local businesses.

5. Textbook Affordability Extension: We plan to expand the Barclay/Petracca affordable textbook options initiative for students. The full explanation of these platform goals can be found on our Instagram page: @parlockirk.

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

A: There are many great things that Marshall has to offer, but student recruitment and retention are the paramount issue that Marshall needs to improve upon. We need to create an environment that draws more students to the campus to share in the same experiences and memories that make Marshall so special. Not only do we need to bring more students to Marshall, but we need to create an overall environment that makes students want to stay at Marshall for the entire portion of their life in college. The more students we have, the more lives we can impact.

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

A: The most important thing for the students to know is that they all have a voice and they should make those voices heard to all of their elected student representatives, so SGA can more accurately reflect the individual and collective wills of the students.