Brent Buterbaugh Elected New SBP: Post-Election Interviews With All Three Candidates

Photo courtesy of Brent Buterbaugh’s campaign

After two weeks of campaigning and debating, current SBP Colin Phillips announced at noon on Wednesday that next year’s SBP will be Brent Buterbaugh. Catherine Blanco and Victoria Fisher were Buterbaugh’s opponents for the position. Seventy-three percent of the student body voted in this year’s election and a run-off was not necessary as Buterbaugh claimed over fifty percent of the votes.

After the results were announced, student reporter Aidan Kurth (MCA ‘24) sat down with each candidate to congratulate them on a race well run and ask them some questions regarding this year’s campaign and its results. 

What made you choose to run for SBP in the first place?

Fisher: “I think what made me want to run was a conversation I had with someone before. Basically, I feel that voices shouldn’t be silenced, although I agree that can be problematic sometimes, I don’t feel like the solution to that should be silencing them. I think the solution is to work with people.” 

Buterbaugh: “I wanted to run because I feel like student leadership has helped me grow as a person these last two years. I was house exec last year, and this year I was on the council this year. I really love King’s, I love what it’s doing, I love the people here. I have a lot of willingness to invest in the people, but I also hope to provide a vision for the school and a voice for the unheard or those who haven’t felt welcomed at King’s.”

Blanco: “I think it was a variety of reasons. In general, I love this institution. I know a lot of people have had problems with it, I myself have in certain circumstances. I find it hard to think that a student can complain about a problem if they’re not willing to get involved in it. I get there are restrictions on that, but I was thinking about senior year, and I really wanted to be in an active role in shaping this institution, especially considering what was happening with COVID-19 and watching our community hurt. I genuinely think I had a vision that would help the school next year and I was happy to see that there were a lot of people that thought the same.”

What were some highlights from your campaign?

Fisher: “During the Bananza, there was someone I knew that didn’t like me there. During the voting part of the event, I had my back turned to my box so people wouldn’t feel pressured to vote for me. But at one point, I kinda glanced over my shoulder and saw that person put their banana in my box. I don’t know, I thought it was kind of cool that I was able to change people’s opinions of me.”

Buterbaugh: “I loved getting to do the butter cakes! It was something that was really unique and gave our campaign some personality. It also gave me the opportunity to interact with almost every single on-campus student which was really cool. I liked being able to interact with them in a casual environment versus just seeing them in the hallways at school and in between classes.” 

Blanco: “Yeah, I’ll say overall comparing the events, I liked the ones that involved talking with people. I felt I was able to understand people’s perspectives and hear their thoughts on the institution. I preferred those to the debate setting. I just felt slightly disconnected from the people in those events. I also really liked it when I got to connect with people and hear their stories and perspectives, especially those from other minority students. That was really fulfilling to me and that’s the aspect that kept me energized during the campaign.”

What do you feel were the strengths of your campaign?

Fisher: “Definitely being more of a student and not someone that people were afraid to approach. I feel that I could speak more personably than on top of people, I’m not saying that the other candidates did that though, I just feel like that was my strength.” 

Buterbaugh: “I think we were able to very effectively communicate our message and our purpose. I am very thankful to my team for helping me to stay on that message. I think they helped me by communicating to me what my own weaknesses are and talking about how I can work on those. I think I was able to communicate pretty well that we wanted to advocate for students and listen to concerns that had been voiced while also bringing forth a positive vision for the student body.”

Blanco: “I think my biggest strength was my team! I definitely depended on them a lot and they always came through. I do believe I had a good vision as well. I think also hearing that the other candidates agreed with what I had to say on certain things during debates affirmed that these values and aspirations were actually good things and things that the student body actually wants.”

If you had more time, were there any places in your campaign you would have liked to see more growth?

Fisher: “Definitely student outreach. I wish I had more time to go door-to-door and have more one-on-one time with people, but it was just too hard in the two weeks we were given.”

Buterbaugh: “That’s hard to say, man. I feel really great about where we were. I told my team yesterday that win or lose, I was extremely proud of what they had done. I am very happy with the way we represented ourselves, and I sincerely have no regrets about the campaign.” 

Blanco: “I felt like in the beginning we started a little stiff because I was bogged down by what people who didn’t know me thought about me. Like, would they think I’m crazy? So, I toned down myself and my campaign’s aesthetic a little at first. I wish I had shown a little bit more personality and fun at first because I later realized that that’s what people want to see in a candidate because I do have a generally lively personality.” 

What are you excited to see done with Brent as SBP?

Fisher: “I just hope Brent gets done what he said he wants to get done. I hope to see more interactions between houses and organizations.”

Blanco: “I’m excited to see how he connects remote students to the larger King’s community. Same thing with the athletics and fine arts departments. I’m excited to see him champion those people and bring them to the forefront and let them display their talents. Also, I’m excited to see him bring on a diverse cabinet as he promised. He’s an honest guy. He’s going to be a great SBP.

What are you excited to do as SBP?

Buterbaugh: “Well, first of all, I am really excited to try and put together a cabinet. I made it really clear before that I plan to try and pick a cabinet that represents all the different corners of the student body, but that also actively seeks to bring in voices that haven’t been heard in the past. In the next couple of weeks, I’ll be talking with a lot of people across staff and students about who would be fit for positions and how we can build a team that’s most effective for building community next year.” 

Buterbaugh will make King’s history as the first member of the House of Lewis to become student body president. To close the interview, Kurth asked him how he felt about that accomplishment.

“I feel good! I feel that Lewis has always been an involved and strong house,” Buterbaugh said. “Many Lewis’ have run before and unfortunately lost, so it feels good to be the first one.”

Buterbaugh will begin putting together his cabinet in the next couple of weeks and planning ways to connect with the student body next year.