Student Senators Isaac Rivera and Anisia Brumley of the Perpetual ticket hope their hands-on experience in the Student Government Association will make the difference to voters.

“We have the experience,” said Rivera, Perpetual’s student body president hopeful. “We’ve been doing our jobs for two years.”

Both sophomores, the duo joined SGA as freshmen. Rivera and Brumley currently chair the Applied Studies and Diversity Task Force committees, respectively.

As committee chairs this year, Rivera said he and Brumley have led “tough” conversations in the Student Senate — including those related to student fees and accusations of sexual assault against former Student Body President Kenon Brinkley.

“We’d like to continue having those tough conversations, and we’d like to take on those bigger responsibilities,” Rivera said.

Last semester, Rivera served on the temporary Student Fees Revision Committee, which created legislation that brought major changes to the student fees process — including increasing the total number of student representatives on the fees committee to 13.

The legislation also designated all non-student members of the fees committee “ex-officio” — or non-voting — members.

“The point of that was to add more students to get greater representation for different groups on campus, and also less representation for people who don’t pay student fees,” Rivera said. “I think the process worked really well.”

Vice presidential candidate Brumley said the ticket’s connections to other on-campus organizations provide an edge.

“I think our ticket is the most dynamic,” Brumley said. “And I think we cover the most representation between the two of us.”

Outside of SGA, Rivera is a part of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and previously worked for the WSU Office of the President. Brumley is a member of both the Black Student Union and Barton International Group.

If elected, Rivera said he would like to see an improved relationship form between SGA and the student body. He said the association should field concerns from students, such as advising and parking, and bring those concerns to the administration.

A 2017 graduate of Valley Center High School, Rivera said he decided to major in education after an internship his senior year with Cory Gibson, superintendent of Valley Center schools.

“I really enjoyed what he did, and then I just had some great teachers, so I just followed in their footsteps,” Rivera said.

Brumley, a 2017 graduate of Northeast Magnet High School, started as a human resources major, but said she switched to economics after an adviser suggested it would better prepare her for a career in budgeting or economic development.

“I told her about my desire to advocate for underserved communities,” Brumley said. “Money is the base of things sometimes, and I wanted to have an influence on that in our community.”

The student body vice president is also the president of the Student Senate, playing the role of speaker during SGA meetings. If elected, Brumley said she would embrace this role by educating and advocating for senators to promote retention.

She said senators should be encouraged to follow through on ideas mentioned in their interviews.

“If we’re appointing them for their awesome platform ideas, and then they don’t do them, that’s not holding them accountable,” Brumley said.