Political science junior Fletcher Lyon said he strives “to be a servant leader,” and for him that means giving the people what they want. 

“I want to make sure that what people want is always given to them because that’s the beauty of democracy,” Lyon said.

The Paducah native and candidate for Student Body President said he practiced democracy at the YMCA Kentucky Youth Assembly program, where he now serves on the Board of Directors.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever run for office, but if the time comes and leadership is needed, then I’m going to try to be that leader,” Lyon said.

Community and leadership development sophomore Ross Boggess is a self-described people person. Not just because he spends his spare time as a Wildcat mascot, but because of his sense of purpose to be a community builder.

Boggess said running with Fletcher was “a God thing.” He was filling out his SGA application, unsure of what position to apply for, when his friend and former KYA associate Lyon called and asked him to run as his vice president.

The Lexington native has dreams of becoming a downtown development planner and serving the public.

“I pledged myself I was always going to be a civically engaged citizen. I may not be in an elected role, but I’m going to do what I can because I know if I don’t, there’s a chance that somebody else might not do it either,” Boggess said.

One platform they have taken a firm stance on is the issue of steadily increasing tuition, which the two SGA presidents before President Rowan Reid voted to raise.

“SGA was not doing what people were asking it to do. Nobody was calling for accountability within SGA,” Lyon said.

For Lyon, this campaign is about adapting to an ever-changing campus, quoting leadership expert John C. Maxwell: “Change is inevitable, growth is optional.”

Lyon said part of that growth involves changes to campus parking that will benefit students. Boggess was told recently that he was the first student to ever attend a Parking and Transportation meeting as a member of the Parking and Transportation Advisory Committee.

This year’s campaign has been marred by unusual gossip, such as a rumor that their team accepted financial support from a conservative organization known as the Leadership Institute, contradicting their claims of a self-funded campaign. Lyon said the rumors were baseless.

“We want to represent the student body as Fletcher and Ross. We’re not some organization that has an agenda that they want us to fulfill,” Lyon said.

Despite assumed tension after a Childress-Foster poster near Funkhouser was ripped next to an untouched Lyon-Boggess poster, Lyon and Boggess said the campaign is friendly between themselves and their opponents Ben Childress and Elizabeth Foster. Foster even attended junior prom with her longtime friend from KYA, Fletcher Lyon.

Students will vote for SGA candidates March 1 and 2 online at uksga.org.