On Mar. 31, 2022, members of the student body and staff at Marshall University went to the Memorial Student Center to see who the next student body president and vice president would be.  

After all the announcement of all the senators, Parks named the next president and vice president duo as Isabella Griffiths and Walker Tatum by a landslide vote.  

“Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to everyone who supported us and showed us some love and thank you all,” Griffiths said after the results were announced.  

Meanwhile, Tatum told the crowd, “I just wanted to reiterate what she said, but I want to thank my family and my friends—our team. This is an amazing opportunity. We’re super excited. And thank you for allowing me to be right by your side… we are excited to serve you the students.”  

Zack Kincaid, cabinet member for the Griffiths/Tatum ticket, said, “I was just so happy for Bella and Walker and our cabinet. I think we all put a lot of effort and work and time into this.”  

Josh Dauber, also a cabinet member for Griffiths/Tatum, said, “Bella and Walker are two great leaders there. They are going to absolutely blow it away. I’m excited to see what they do.”  

Parks at the end of the announcement said, “I’m extremely proud of her accomplishments and Walker’s accomplishments as well. I think Bella and I have grown so much in the past year. So, I’m really excited to see that she’s going to be taking the next step and will be my successor.” 

 After winning the student body presidential and vice-presidential election and the semester ending soon, Bella Griffiths and Walker Tatum are making plans for the next semester despite being in different time zones.  

Griffiths and Tatum will go their separate ways for the summer but will stay in regular contact to disuses the upcoming semester.  

“This summer I will be studying abroad,” Griffiths said, describing her plans to study in both Spain and the United Kingdom. “So, Walker’s going to work on student orientations and a lot of virtual planning for the upcoming semester.”  

When asked how she would stay in touch with her vice president, Griffiths said, “Definitely a lot of texting and calling. Even with a time zone change.” 

Tatum followed up on Griffith’s response by saying, “Our main focus is to get ready to buckle down on our platform. At the same time, having that smooth transition of power and kind of adapting to these positions and getting in there to where we can actually start on our platforms.”  

Tatum also said, “When she’s studying abroad, I’ll be here in Huntington. I’ll have the opportunity for me to be the face of our ticket if she’s not able to be here.”  

Despite the distance, the two will stay in contact with each other and the members of their presidential cabinet to ensure a smooth transition. They will also put into motion the goals for Marshall from their campaign promises, which include The Three E’s: Engage, Equip and Empower. 

Matt James, an advisor for the SGA (Student Government Association), said, “I couldn’t be prouder—over 1000 votes. It is very uncommon. I have been involved in student government for 17 years. I have rarely seen teams garner more than 1000 votes.” The vote count was 80.19% for Griffiths and Tatum and for Donahue and Raffinengo 19.17%. 

James went on to say, “I’m just excited to see how Bella builds on what they’ve already started this year.”  

“Alyssa and I just kind of tackled our platforms last year one at a time, and trying to work on our platform ideas,” Griffiths said. “I think it’ll be just a matter of working it into the schedule.”  

For Cameron Donohue, he still plans to continue his future in politics. “I’m a political science student,” he said. “So, politics and campaigning fascinates me… I’d love to work in some state elections.”  

Nico Raffinengo also has similar plans by staying involved with SGA. Raffinego said he would like to work with Tatum on implementing some of the platform ideas from his campaign, as well as mentoring members of the senate when it comes to Roberts’s Rules.  

James and Alyssa Parks, current student body president, also announced the respective senators for each college on campus.  

For the College of Arts and Media: Isabella Robinson and Lana Thacker. For the College of Business: Alyssa Hudson, Brady Doyle, Erin Roberts and Laura Hundley. For the College of Education and Professional Development: Bethany Raby, Kellan Romans, Nicholas Young, Emily Shannon and Jackson Hussell-Davis. For the College of Health Professions: Kylie Fisher, Kenlee Bonecutter, Alec Hess, Maddie Fields, Erin Wellman and McKenzie Myers.   

For the College of Information Technology and Engineering: Lan Skaff and Isaac Rains. For the College of Liberal Arts: Tayma Al-Astal, Nick Taylor, Chloe Davis and Kaitlyn Blankenship. For the College of Science: Dylan Ellison, Makena Rauch Maddy Scott and Griffin Wagoner. For the Honors College: Olivia Moncada. For the School of Medicine: Zack Mitchell. For the School of Pharmacy: Angelina Tetteh.