Jason Harward co-editor-in-chief
In a close and competitive election for the top positions in the USC student government, current collegiate sophomores Debbie Lee (class of ‘16) and Blake Ackerman (class of ‘16), who were both heavily involved in Beverly’s ASB, were elected president and vice president for the 2018-19 school year.
The Lee/Ackerman ticket won 49.1 percent of the schoolwide vote, in which 4,627 undergraduates participated, just edging out their opponents, who compiled 46.7 percent of the total.
During their senior year at Beverly, the pair served as ASB head row vice president and president, with Ackerman holding the presidency first semester and Lee serving second semester. While there are similarities between the two levels of government, Lee described college student government as more focused on campus issues.
“Student government in college is very much issue-based and initiative-based, versus in high school where it’s heavily focused on events. But the same baseline remains: student government is a platform to care for all students,” Lee said.
The issues she is referring to include training staff to proactively handle sexual assault, increasing tuition transparency and increased collaboration with other student leaders through weekly luncheons.