Candidate Ethan Baker won the BYUSA presidential election after a close race against competitor Brooke Layton.
Brandyn Young will serve as the executive vice president alongside Baker for the 2022–23 school year.
Students voted online for the 2022-23 BYUSA president on March 3. According to Logan Mann, the Student Connection and Leadership Center assistant director, Baker won by 35 votes. He said with there only being two candidates this year, it was one of the closest elections BYUSA has seen.
Mann said he is excited about the new presidency and can’t wait to see what Baker and Young will do to improve campus.
“Their passion is very evident in wanting to help every student to feel loved and feel that they belong,” Mann said.
Throughout the voting day, Baker said he ran around campus trying to promote his campaign as well as get to know the student body. He had numerous booths stationed all around campus with volunteers urging students to vote for him.
“I realized the day of voting that so much depended on my volunteers and that I only could do so much,” Baker said. “I was grateful for all the volunteers that we did have because we were able to reach different demographics and different groups of students.”
Julie Lang, Baker’s campaign coordinator, played a large role in organizing all the volunteers and events related to his campaign. She said she looks forward to having Baker as the next president because “He’ll be able to make a big difference in narrowing that gap between students and faculty.”
Baker said he is very excited to be the next president and to reach more of the student body with his position. He said he knows this position requires a lot of time, dedication and vulnerability, but he is ready for these opportunities to grow and lead.
“I’m most excited because I’ve always dreamed of helping students and helping them feel more comfortable and feel like they’re a part of a community. Being student body president gives me the platform to do so,” Baker said.
Baker’s mission, “Better Together,” is focused on students finding their connection to one another on campus, creating more short-term on-campus volunteering opportunities and increasing the advertising efforts of BYUSA so more students can discover how they can make a difference.
Baker said he will work side-by-side with Young to create a campus of inclusion and make sure students know they have a voice and an opinion within BYU.
“I’m excited for the one-on-one interactions with students, getting to be a voice of validation and extending a hand to those who feel like they’re on the outskirts,” Young said.
Baker and Young both said they are thrilled to be the next BYUSA president and vice president and they look forward to helping create a better campus for students.
