The 2026 Student Government candidates for vice president, treasurer, and speaker of the senate sat down with The Daily Gamecock and SGTV to discuss their campaign goals and platforms. Voting will open online on Feb. 24 at 9 a.m. and close on Feb. 25 at 5 p.m.
Myron Harris, third-year criminology and criminal justice student
Myron Harris is running alongside presidential candidate Cole Rotondo for student body vice president.
Harris has been involved with Student Government for three years. He currently serves as director of outreach for Student Government and previously served in Freshman Council and in the liberties and representation cabinet.
According to Harris, the Rotondo-Harris campaign is running on three platforms: safety, infrastructure and student experience. Along with those platforms, the campaign has initiatives laid out for each, he said.
The campaign platform differs from the others because it is primarily based on student feedback, Harris said. Some of the campaign's platform initiatives it is focused on include green space on campus and stronger academic and career advising.
Harris' goals for success include implementing tangible change that can be done within a full term, he said.
“It needs to be something that students see, so they don’t feel like they're just buying into an idea,” Harris said. “They are seeing the effects on their campus.”
Harris said that those around him define him as an active listener who wants to hear students’ stories. This balances Rotondo’s ability as a natural leader, Harris said.
Grant Hunter, second-year marketing, management and finance student
Grant Hunter is running alongside presidential candidate Jordan Cooper for student body vice president. Hunter is currently a senator in Student Government.
According to Hunter, the three platforms that the Cooper-Hunter campaign is running on are parking, a revised Cockpit system and a revised Greek Week. Hunter said their campaign priority is to represent and be there for over 40,000 USC students.
For parking, the campaign is looking to use Gamecock Park outside of Williams-Brice Stadium for parking spaces and have a shuttle that transports students to the Russell House, Hunter said. It is also looking to revamp the Cockpit system so students can see where they place in line for tickets, he said.
Cooper and Hunter are looking to focus on communication with students and organizations, as well as meeting with them, if it were to win the election.
“That’s what we’re supposed to do here at Student Government,” said Hunter. “It’s to connect everybody into one big group to make the best Carolina we possibly can.”
Hunter said that he is running for vice president because Columbia is his home, and he wants to do everything in his power to give back to the community. His passion for USC is what makes him qualified, he said.
To get more people to vote outside of Student Government itself, Hunter hopes to flip the script by offering Cockpit points for voting in the election. He said he hopes this will help students pay more attention to the election.
Kiki D’Apolito, third-year sport and entertainment management student
Kiki D’Apolito is running unopposed for the role of speaker of the student senate.
Serving two terms in senate, including one and a half as chair of the judiciary committee, is what drove D’Apolito to run for speaker, she said. She hopes to guide the senate with the experience she already has.
“I think (my committee) really prepares me because of how much time I spend with the codes,” D’Apolito said. “I pretty much know them like the back of my hand.”
According to D’Apolito, the primary focus of her campaign is to “make representation a reality.” She aims to accomplish this with quality legislation, maintaining transparency and accountability, and student-focused action.
Students can expect to know what exactly is going on in senate, D'Apolito said. She aims to do these things by making more use of the Student Government Instagram through polls and posts regarding student senate.
Along with using social media to help students become more aware of student senate's initiatives, D'Apolito said wants to further push the message that student senate is "here for the students."
Ashley Reynolds, third-year risk management and insurance and finance student
Ashley Reynolds is running unopposed for re-election as student body treasurer on a ticket alongside presidential candidate Emma Strickland. Reynolds is a third-year risk management and insurance and finance student.
According to Reynolds, her campaign with Strickland is running on three pillars: infrastructure, support and innovation. Support would look like supporting things already present at USC, and innovation consists of things that it would aim to work on, she said.
Reynolds said the Student Government partial funding model, which she helped create, is something that must stay in place until the student activity fee is raised. She is looking forward to reviewing the model over the summer and doing what she can to get as much money to student organizations as possible.
“I think the most important thing that we can do is be a liaison between any student and the board or the legislator,” Reynolds said. “Just making sure that advocacy is heard across campus and that we’re doing what’s in the best interest of the student body.”
Though Reynolds said their campaign is not traditional in that it is a president-treasurer ticket, she said that it has been successfully done before. She and Strickland share similar views, she said. Besides her previous experience as treasurer, Reynolds said her innovative mindset and commitment to her role qualifies her for the position.
“Doing this job again next year, I’ll be doing it 100% the same way I was doing it this year,” Reynolds said.
Editor's note: Emilee Davis contributed to the reporting in this article.