ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA — In a record-breaking turnout, Winthrop University students
have chosen Imani Belton and Brandon Jackson as the president and vice president of the Council of Student Leaders (CSL), the university’s student government body, for the 2019-20 academic year.
Approximately 1,132 students voted in the March election, with only 16 votes separating Belton and Jackson from runners-up Kalea Young Gibson and Malik Frazier.
Belton and Jackson expressed thanks for all who voted and helped them along “their journey.”
“We feel amazing!” Belton said. “This is an exceptional opportunity, and we are ready to get to work. Not only are we excited to work alongside peers, but we are excited to serve the student body and Winthrop University as a whole.”
The pair ran on the platform “Be More,” which will focus on cross-collaboration between departments and student organizations.
“We are looking forward to increasing CSL's presence in an effort for the student body to understand how to effectively use the council,” Belton explained. “We know the power behind our council, but we want everyone else to know as well. How are we to stand as representatives of our student body if our student body does not know who or what organization represents them? We often found that many individuals on campus are not cognizant of the Council of Student Leaders nor the powers it possesses, and we'd like to change that.”
Belton is a junior integrated marketing communication major from Simpsonville, South Carolina. She currently serves as a diversity peer educator in the Office of Diversity and Student Engagement and has also served as a peer mentor. Within CSL, she’s the public relations committee co-chair.
Jackson is a sophomore business administration major from Columbia, South Carolina. He’s a resident assistant in Richardson Hall and vice-president of order and tradition for the Resident Students’ Association. He was recently inducted into the John ‘JT’ Timmons Chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH). Within CSL, he’s served as secretary.
For more information, contact Nicole Chisari, communications coordinator, at 803/323-2236 or chisarin@winthrop.edu.
