Brandon Smith is the Third SBP Candidate for the 2018 Election

Brandon Smith (‘19), a PPE major from Missouri, has announced his intention to run for Student Body President.

“I have felt the pressures of being a house president,” Smith said. “But I’ve also felt that I couldn’t lead because I didn’t have the resources. These things aren’t hypothetical to me. They’re very real.”

Smith’s most focused on platform will be his intention to figure out what it means to be a Chamberlain in order to help them in their roles. In his experience being Helmsman for the house of Bonhoeffer, he’s seen that Chamberlains carry too much on their plate. He wants to redefine the role by figuring out what needs to be done and what students are actually capable of doing. If this means moving some of the roles of the Chamberlain to other Exec Team positions, then so be it, he said.

“It’s harmful to the community because there becomes a gap between what they can do and what we need,” Smith said.

Chamberlains always end up burnt out by the end of the year, as Smith sees it, which shows that the role is unsustainable.

Smith hopes to pinpoint problems at The King’s College by working from the bottom up. He sees the cabinet, as working from the top down, which leaves the voices of smaller communities unheard. By meeting with smaller organizations and Exec Teams, Smith hopes to figure out the problems and challenges that need to be addressed. Smith says smaller groups are the most fundamental part of King’s life, making it more beneficial to work with these smaller groups of organizations and communities, as opposed to changing the bylaws and constitutions on.

The culture of the honor code will be important in Smith’s campaign as he plans to be very open about his two times being honor-coded as a freshman. “It’s something that while I’m not proud of,” Smith said, “it has taught me the redemptive nature of why we are doing what we are doing.”

Spiritual life will be the third most important feature of Smith’s campaign, and he believes that “Vicar,” an old Exec Team position focused strictly on spiritual life, will be a buzzword this election season. The Council is focusing too much on either bringing it back or not as a means to address King’s spiritual life, instead of looking into better ways to foster growth.

The way to address spiritual life may be holding small groups to discuss the state of their soul or attempting to change the culture. What Smith is sure of is that creating laws or changing the constitution is not the best means of addressing spiritual life or any other issues present.

From having been both a house President and Chamberlain, Smith believes that he has had a unique lens into the workings of The King’s College. As a result, he says he has a unique view of the issues that are necessary to address on campus.

“These problems are things that I’ve experienced in my own relationships. They aren’t ideas,” Smith said.

A previous version of this article improperly stated that Brandon Smith served as Chamberlain of the House of Bonhoeffer, and that he met with the honor council on two occasions. It has been corrected to say he served as Helmsman, and that he was honor-coded twice.