When Carson Poupore and Beth Felkner sat next to one another on the first day of their honors freshman microeconomics class, they couldn’t imagine how far their friendship would go.
OU Student Government Association presidential candidate Poupore, an economics, political science and business management junior, and vice presidential candidate Felkner, an economics and letters junior, are running mates for the fall 2022 SGA election.
“Beth is my best friend,” Poupore said. “I couldn’t really tell you how it happened. It went from us studying together to us hanging out, to us now doing this big thing together, and I wouldn’t want to do this with anyone else.”
Felkner said they and Poupore complement each other really well, with Poupore being bold and a broad thinker and Felkner being more cautious and detail-oriented.
“Sometimes he’s like, ‘Beth, step back,’ and I say, ‘No, step forward and look,’” Felkner said. “We keep each other really balanced and motivate one another a lot.”
Poupore and Felkner’s platform is called WILL, which stands for working, informing, learning and listening. Poupore said these four points are the heart of everything the two of them are trying to do.
Felkner said some highlights of their campaign include advocating for a universal wage increase for on-campus student workers, seeking to reopen closed restaurants, updating OU SafeRIDE, implementing a meal swipe donation program and creating a graduate liaison position in the executive branch.
“It’s designed to identify tangible problems and provide tangible solutions,” Felkner said. “We believe at least one platform point, or more, will benefit every single student on campus. This is our will to you, and it’s encapsulated in our WILL platform.”
Both candidates currently work under SGA President Zack Lissau in his cabinet, and the pair have used their positions to build their platform off of Lissau’s preexisting one as he exits the presidency following the upcoming election.
“I’ve been able to shadow his responsibilities and everything that he’s been through, and he’s honestly inspired me a lot throughout this process,” Poupore said. “We’ve been able to learn a lot, take a lot and be able to implement what has worked and what hasn’t worked, and push that forward in order to make the Sooner experience better.”
Student body election cycles were extended after previous candidates, such as Lissau and his opponent Angelora Castellano, expressed their frustration at the quick turnaround from campaign meeting to election day, which was roughly 10 days. Felkner said this extension has helped outreach because some student organizations’ meetings overlap, but now they can make time to go to each.
“One of our platform points is listening, so this longer time also allows us not just to speak, but also to listen and build on the solutions we already have in order to act intently upon the student concerns we’re hearing,” Poupore said.
Felkner said they and Poupore would strive to have a diverse executive cabinet if elected but would look for motivated thinkers who are interested in the upkeep of campus and student life.
“I’m not cisgender or straight, so I represent that a bit, but I’d love to have more queer representation because I think queerness is beautiful,” Felkner said.
Poupore said he hopes students will believe in their abilities to work for the entire student body. He believes he and Felkner’s time and effort in their campaign will become apparent come election day.
“We’ve worked two years on this platform and the conversations that we’ve had have been amazing,” Poupore said. “Looking at these campus issues, looking at the potential solutions at our university and at other universities, and working to fit them into the mold and implement them into what would work and benefit all students.”
Poupore and Felkner will face presidential candidate Christopher Firch, finance and accounting junior, and vice presidential candidate Emelie Schultz, business management and psychology sophomore.
Students can cast their votes for SGA president and vice president using ENGAGE beginning Nov. 1 through Nov. 2.
