As the Student Government Association (SGA) election on March 26-27 approaches, Jasmine Bradley and Ariel Stephens are outlining their platforms and goals for their ongoing campaign for SGA president and vice president. The pair is running on a platform emphasizing advocacy, transparency and engagement—aiming to address what they see as a lack of student involvement and representation in SGA.
Who are Bradley and Stephens?
Jasmine Bradley, a sophomore nursing major with a minor in honors, is involved in multiple student organizations. She serves as the president of the Black Student Union, one of the vice presidents for the Activities Programming Board, a mentor for NKU R.O.C.K.S, a supplemental instructor for Chemistry 115, Physiological Chemistry, and a Students to Scholars mentee.
“My different involvements on and off campus have really prepared me to be [SGA president] because leadership has always been at my forefront when it comes to the organizations,” Bradley said.
Ariel Stephens, a sophomore law major minoring in honors, is also involved in several areas around campus. She currently serves as the vice president external for Norse Leadership Society (NLS), a mentor for the Freshmen Service Leadership Committee, a member of the Black Student Union and is a candidate for the Chase 3+3 accelerated program.
“I believe SGA is all about connection and connecting with different students,” Stephens said, adding that her involvement in NLS has encouraged her to engage more with the campus community.
In addition to her on-campus leadership roles, Stephens interned last summer with federal judge Walter H. Rice, a senior judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. She said the experience broadened her understanding of government and politics.
“I was able to learn more about our government. I was able to know about what goes on in the political climate, which also really inspired me to do SGA,” she said.
Why are they running?
Bradley cited concerns about student engagement and communication from SGA as some of the motivating factors for their candidacy.
“The lack of change we’ve been able to see, the lack of advocacy, transparency and engagement from our SGA,” she said. “Those are the very pillars that we are running on. We want to advocate, we want to be transparent with our student body and let them know every step of the way what is going on with SGA.”
The presidential candidate also noted a hope for increased student representation within the organization.
“We want to see more representation with SGA. I feel like there has definitely been a lack of that within our last two years here at NKU,” she said.
Bradley and Stephens are running under the motto, “Empower Every Voice and Embrace Every Story.”
“We have often been in spaces where our voices have been shut out and have not been heard,” Bradley said. “So when we get to this space, if we do become elected, we definitely want to empower the voices of students and let them know that we’re here to listen to them, as well as embrace the stories that they bring to NKU.”
Stephens expressed a similar view, saying, “I think that changing the SGA culture as well is something really important. Changing SGA culture means changing how SGA is seen on campus. We’ve experienced not feeling welcome in that environment and we’re going to make sure no one else experiences that.”
Their partnership
Bradley and Stephens described their working relationship as one that extends beyond just their campaign.
“Ariel has just been like, the best running mate ever,” Bradley said. “I feel like she was definitely the best candidate. We were going back and forth for who was gonna run for president, and who’s gonna run for vice president. We have that relationship where it’s not just a business-ship, but we have a friendship, and we actually interact with each other and have fun, not just be with each other for SGA.”
Stephens noted Bradley’s leadership in revitalizing the Black Student Union as a reason she felt confident in her as a candidate.
“The Black Student Union when we came in our freshman year, it was kind of disbanded, there wasn’t much going on about it,” Stephens said. “She ended up taking initiative, becoming president and restarting that program again. She was my president when I was in BSU my first year. It was really inspiring to me to know that someone will put this much effort in because she heard the voice of everyone else.”
Key issues for Bradley and Stephens
When asked about NKU’s challenges, Bradley pointed to what she described as an unwelcoming environment within SGA.
“The lack of a welcoming environment here when it comes to being in SGA,” she said, explaining that she and Stephens had attended past meetings where they felt there was “no acknowledgment of us or our presence.”
To address this issue, Bradley has proposed implementing an SGA open house as an early initiative if elected.
“One of the first things we want to do, we want to create an SGA open house,” she said. “That’s just inviting everybody and letting them know that you are welcome to any SGA meeting you want to sit in and hear about.”
Bradley and Stephens will be participating in the 2025 Northerner SGA debate on March 24 at 6 p.m. in the University Center Ballroom. The slate will be on the ballot in the upcoming SGA elections on March 26-27, where students will elect the next leaders for the 2025-26 academic year.