Landon Lee is running for Southern Utah University student body president with Alex Thornton as his executive vice president. Both candidates currently work as Assistant Coaches for Excellence and Success, where they mentor freshmen through their first year at the university.
The duo is running on three initiatives: Increasing student wages and opportunities, empowering student perspectives and fostering active student engagement.
“With the state of the economy, it has been very expensive to live,” Lee explained. “I want to be able to work with departments and chat with them. We’ve been in talks about it this year, but I want to be able to work with them and provide these changes … Anything I can do to provide students with better wages.”
He wants to further the current administration’s efforts to highlight mySUU voice by personally talking with and addressing each student who submits a concern.
Lee said that while their initiative of fostering student engagement sounds like amplifying campus events, he believes it is much more than that.
“Students that are struggling for groceries, how many of them know we have a HOPE pantry? Students that are struggling with school and their grades, we have a tutoring center for them, or if they are struggling with mental health, how many of them know that we have a mental health CAPS resource that you can go to for free?” he said. “I want to work with these departments to make sure students know that we have all of these resources for them.”
Lee’s running mate Thornton also endorses these efforts and hopes to be in a position to enforce these changes next school year.
“My biggest goal is to help support students and Landon in any way I can,” said Thornton. “I just want students to feel like their voices are being heard, their problems are being fixed and that we are a support for them in any way that we need to be.”
Lee is a junior at SUU studying exercise science, and serves as the SUU health sciences student association senator. Thornton is a junior majoring in social work with a minor in family life and human development. He is the president of the Social Work Club.
Lee was in student leadership roles in high school.
“Coming to college, that was not my approach at all. My approach was kind of ‘I’m gonna lay low, get my degree and get out of here,’” Lee said. “But I think as I started progressing and I became an ACE, I began understanding what students are going through, see where they’ve been and truly understand how it is to be a student in 2025.”
Lee and Thornton believe that it is their work as ACES that makes them qualified for their roles in SUUSA’s executive council.
“I’ve been able to work with a diverse amount of students at SUU and I’ve been able to work with students from all sorts of situations, and I feel like I can relate to students,” Lee said. “I understand what you are going through; I feel what you are going through and I can help you get through this.”
Throughout the process of this election, Lee and Thornton have gained increased exposure to the various members of the student body, and will continue to dedicate this time to understanding the people they aim to serve.
“I have formed connections with people that I wouldn’t have if it weren’t for this campaign process,” said Thornton. “We’re excited to meet you all.”
Though the campaign has kept the pair busy, it has also opened the doors for cherished experiences.
“If I win or lose, I will hold these memories dearly,” he said. “Go out and vote, go have fun and I hope to meet every student that I can.”
Voting is now open and closes Thursday, March 6 at 5 p.m. Be sure to get informed, read the candidates’ platforms and vote for the leaders who represent your needs.
Author: Heather Turner
Editor: Anna Mower
Photo courtesy of Landon Lee and Alex Thornton
life@suunews.net
