Two campaigns remain for Undergraduate Student Government’s executive branch election for the coming academic year. Credit: Sydney Jones | Lantern Reporter

The Undergraduate Student Government election for a new executive branch began at the end of February with two remaining campaigns on the ballot for president and vice president.

Bobby McAlpine and Michael Taylor are running for president with their vice president candidates Madison Mason and Ming Lei, respectively. McAlpine and Mason are the only two with USG experience, and each pair comes with a different approach to leadership.

Michael Farquharson, a third-year in mechanical engineering, and Julian Rodgers, a first-year in film studies and marketing, dropped out of the race Sunday night after screenshots of Farquharson’s past social media posts and comments using anti-Semitic, homophobic and racist language circulated online. Their names will not be on the ballot. 

Voting for the next executive branch began Monday at noon and will close Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. Students can vote on USG’s website. 

Undergraduate Student Government candidates Bobby McAlpine and Madison Mason. Courtesy of Madison Mason

McAlpine and Mason

McAlpine, a third-year in electrical engineering and political science, is USG’s current senior director of engagement. He said he’s been involved in USG for three years, holding the position of speaker of the general assembly in 2021. 

Mason, a third-year in political science, said she’s also been in USG for three years and is currently the senior director of issues. 

Mason said she thinks the pair’s experience and knowledge of how USG operates is what will give them a head start in the presidency.

“If we get elected, we can really hit the ground running and for the full stretch of the year, do everything we can every single day without necessarily having to learn the ins and outs,” Mason said. 

McAlpine said his and Mason’s campaign is focused on “bridging the gap” that has grown between USG and the student body since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. One way they plan on achieving this goal is to continue reaching out to student organizations on campus, which provide aid to students. 

“Madison and I, the type of leaders we are, we know we don’t have the answers to everything in the room, but we know there are some people that are the smartest people in the room, and we want to uplift those voices,” McAlpine said.

McAlpine and Mason have promoted mental health as a foundational initiative in their campaign, and the team is promising to help students balance college life by connecting them with resources available at Ohio State and within USG. 

An initiative they plan on starting if elected is suicide prevention training in Buckeyelink, a source where students can learn the signs of mental health struggles. 

“We lost a friend to suicide and the fact that he was feeling so lost and disconnected from the Ohio State community, we don’t think any student should ever feel that way ever again,” McAlpine said. 

The campaign is dedicated to giving back to university students, they said. Mason said she and McAlpine want to give back to students through campuswide events, safety devices and finals care packages. 

“Things that USG can spend student money in ways that students can tangibly feel and see, so they understand their money is being spent on them,” Mason said.

Undergraduate Student Government candidates Michael Taylor and Ming Lei. Courtesy of Michael Taylor

Taylor and Lei

Taylor, a third-year in finance, and Lei, a third-year in finance and economics, are not currently in USG but have plans to improve the organization if elected. 

The pair are focusing on bringing representation to the average student in USG because they said it feels disconnected, and the organization did not represent the student body well enough. To ensure efficiency within the organization, Taylor said they are dedicated to disclosing exactly what USG has control over by being “straightforward and honest.”

Lei said he was in USG for two semesters during his freshman year and was disappointed with the lack of initiatives and support for students within the organization. 

“I was very dissatisfied with the stuff that we did. We kind of did nothing really,” Lei said.

Their campaign is dedicated to showing that an average student has what it takes to be a successful USG leader, Lei said.

“Really what it takes to be USG president is to be the average student who wants to make a change and who wants to better student organizations and the lives of students in general,” Lei said.

Taylor said USG’s involvement with Ohio State’s resources is important, and their campaign will focus on utilizing those resources for students’ needs if elected. 

Taylor and Lei said they draw leadership skills from their Eagle Scout backgrounds and plan to implement what they learned in USG. 

“Our values really align with these students and having those previous leadership values and experiences will help them,” Taylor said. “Ming and I both being Eagle Scouts, we have the leadership and integrity skills that need to come with being USG leaders.”

If elected to office, Taylor said he will focus on USG’s budget and incorporate initiatives that will limit internal spending, including managing the Coca-Cola Endowment — funding given to USG as a grant from Ohio State’s and Coca-Cola’s partnership to “invest in leadership development initiatives” — given to USG. 

“Being able to give that money back — that everyone thinks is supposed to go to internal uses — when it can be used for external uses is something we want to do,” Taylor said.