The University of Kentucky’s Student Government Association (UKSGA) hosted its annual presidential and vice presidential debate in the Gatton Student Center’s Worsham Cinema, where candidates shared their platforms and campaign initiatives with the student body.

During the debate, candidates discussed multiple topics like campus safety, finances and student involvement. 

Trisha Clement-Montgomery, the dean of students at UK, served as the moderator for the debate on Monday, Feb. 17 giving each candidate a chance to answer questions and counter their fellow candidate’s responses. 

McKenna Dowell, the UKSGA operations and evaluations committee chair, is one of the presidential candidates with Jackson Baird, a UKSGA undergraduate senator-at-large, as the vice presidential candidate.

Morgan Brooke, the UKSGA appropriations and revenue committee chair, is also running for president alongside running mate, Sam Kahsay, who is an undergraduate senator-at-large. 

Kennedi Fishback, UKSGA’s director of civic engagement, is also a presidential candidate with Amir Roberts, vice president of Kappa Alpha Psi and ROTC member, running as the vice presidential candidate on the ticket.

Student safety and well-being

Part of Brooke and Kahsay’s initiatives include partnering with UK’s Counseling Center, advocating for excused mental health-related absences and spreading awareness about the university’s resources. 

Brooke and Kahsay said a goal of their administration is to work with UK’s Counseling Center to expand addiction services. Some of these initiatives include the buddy system, sponsorships and incentivizing sobriety milestones. 

Brooke also addressed the sexual violence cases at the university saying it feels like UK Police Department (UKPD) safety alert emails are becoming too frequent. To target this concern, Brooke proposed “physical mobile safety devices” as well as safety alert buttons in residence halls.

Dowell said her goals include excused mental health-related absences, expanding operating hours for UK’s University Health Service and reducing medication costs for students. 

Representing students across different academic levels

Clement-Montgomery asked the presidential candidates how they would effectively represent undergraduate, graduate, professional and post-doctoral students, and how they would address each group’s needs. 

Baird and Dowell said their campaign’s initiatives include offering a $14 per semester nightly parking pass, building two parking garages and creating an interactive parking map. 

Dowell said she and Baird had discussed these goals with Lance Broeking, UK’s director of transportation services.

Dowell said they had also spoken with UK Athletics about hosting university-led tailgates to “enhance the game day experience, not just for our current students, but for prospective students and alumni.”

The pair also received funding and logistics approval to implement saunas and cold plunges in the Johnson Recreation Center, according to Dowell. 

“This is not something that we’re going to say is going to happen in a few years,” Dowell said. “This is something that will happen and it will be implemented in fall of 2026.” 

In Fishback’s response, she said a goal of hers was to spread awareness about SGA’s offerings and connect with the student body. 

Fishback said she and Roberts created Wildcat Exchange, a platform where students can ask questions and voice concerns regarding SGA. 

Fishback said another initiative included tailoring UKSGA’s marketing and advertisements toward the student body. 

Brooke introduced initiatives such as tuition caps, addressing student healthcare and increasing stipends for graduate students who teach at UK. 

“We know that a huge factor in picking the university that you choose as a (high school) senior is the tuition,” Brooke said. “I want to use my force as a member of the board of trustees to advocate for this, that no student has a financial burden.”

Vice presidential candidates on transparency and interbranch communication

Clement-Montgomery asked the vice presidential candidates how they would use their position to increase transparency between SGA and UK students as well as “interbranch relations” in SGA.

Roberts said a goal of his and Fishback’s was to educate students on SGA’s operations and opportunities. 

“SGA is meant to be the bridge between things like your president of the university, and your board of trustees and the student body,” Roberts said. “We feel that there’s a big gap right now in that bridge.”

Initiatives to address this “gap” include maintaining communication with presidents of UK organizations and implementing town hall events, according to Roberts. 

Roberts said he and Fishback have met with other student body presidents from fellow Southeastern Conference (SEC) schools to discuss the town hall event. He said it would take place once a month, with students being able to voice concerns and tell the candidates directly what they want to change about the university. 

Kahsay said he and Brooke want to establish an outreach chair position in SGA. The outreach chair’s job would be to connect with students in the classroom and organizations to educate them about the opportunities the association provides. 

Kahsay talked about the vice president’s role as president of the senate, saying he hoped to address representation concerns while in that position. 

“One thing I would like to do is to grant the task to senators to take more initiative within their own college,” Kahsay said. “They should be voicing concerns that come from the people they’re representing and bringing that forth to SGA.”

Baird and Dowell said they wanted to “revamp” SGA’s current Cat’s Chronicles to include short-form video.

Currently, the Cat’s Chronicles provides “students insight on what each branch of UKSGA is working toward and what upcoming events are happening soon,” according to volume one of the series. 

Along with introducing a town hall event similar to Roberts, Baird also said he and Dowell planned to expand UKSGA’s caucus system. 

“Anybody in this auditorium can go to a senator in UKSGA and tell them about something that they want changed on campus,” Baird said. “They can immediately start a caucus, people can meet with, talk about and be able to come together and create solutions in SGA.”

Community and student engagement

Clement-Montgomery asked candidates how their administrations planned to support their initiatives through direct partnerships to help “improve the student experience on campus.”

Baird said a concern he and Dowell wanted to address was infrastructure, specifically, fixing potholes around campus. 

Baird also said, if elected, he and Dowell planned to do a safety walk with the Lexington Police Department and UKPD to address campus safety concerns. 

“I had a sister that went here for four years, and it feels like every single week we look down at our phone and we get another email about somebody getting hurt on campus,” Baird said. 

To close their response, Dowell said she and Baird had met with UK’s printer company to “expand printer availability across campus” to better serve students’ needs. 

Kahsay said he and Brooke hoped to add a feature to UK Canvas to showcase campus events and involvement opportunities. 

“We think that streamlining those in one central location would make everyone more engaged and more knowledgeable on what is going on on campus,” Kahsay said. 

Kahsay also announced an initiative to re-establish movie showings at the Historic Memorial Coliseum, saying these events “would be a great thing for the culture.” 

Brooke said she created a new grant for student organizations as the chair of UKSGA’s appropriations and revenue committee. 

“This grant will be available for all students to apply this summer and ensure that every organization, no matter the size, has an equal opportunity to survive,” Brooke said. 

Lastly, Fishback and Roberts said they had talked with Freshie’s Ice Cream & Soda Fountain, and the establishment was interested in collaborating with their administration. 

Fishback also said their administration wanted to increase UK’s Involvement Advising to guide students when joining clubs and organizations. 

“​​They think that a lot of students have already found their clicks, or that there has to be some secret method to getting involved,” Fishback said. “We would like to increase the Involvement Advising program so that students are able to build confidence within themselves.” 

Clement-Montgomery then asked candidates how their administration would encourage students to become more involved, as well as help students navigate barriers they may experience.

Baird said a goal of his administration was to host UK’s Homecoming Parade on campus “in the near future” to bring together students and alumni.

During Fishback and Robert’s response time, Roberts said he and his running mate planned to implement student engagement modules for first-year and freshman students.

According to Roberts, these modules would educate students about things like navigating campus, and attendance would be incentivized by being eligible for UK Invest compensation.

“Giving students a tangible asset and reward for going out and getting involved is one way that we definitely want to make sure everybody finds their home on campus,” Roberts said.

In Brooke and Kahsay’s response, Kahsay said a goal of their administration is to create one-on-one meetings between an organization executive and a prospective member. Kahsay said this would allow students to ease into organizations more comfortably.