Mason Bader, current speaker of the Student Government Association senate, has been elected student body president. He will be inaugurated in late April, along with the elected vice presidents and senators.
Bader is a junior studying psychology with a minor in Spanish on the pre-law track. He is a resident advisor for the diversity and global citizenship learning community. He is also the student success chair of the strategic plan and a University Ambassador. In SGA, he is also a member of both the internal affairs committee and the student organizations committee.
Students who have worked with Bader expressed their excitement about his upcoming term. Aafia Haneef, who is the current Senator for Multifaith Affairs and newly elected Senator for the College of Arts and Sciences, shared her feelings.
“He’s really honest, he’s really responsible, and he’s really passionate about SGA. I think he’ll be really connected to the student body, which is hard to do, but really important,” Haneef said.
During his campaign, Bader said he wanted to address issues that are broadly felt by many SLU students.
“I think a lot of students are in the position where they don’t feel heard,” Bader said. “They don’t feel like they can belong on this campus. I’m looking forward to finding ways to hear from students more directly, more frequently, and actually hearing them myself.”
As student body president, Bader said that he wants to be a resource for students to directly bring issues to SGA’s attention.
“I don’t want a student coming to me, venting about a problem, and it’s going to be a very legitimate problem, something that I can do something about, and then nothing happens,” Bader said. “That’s not right. SGA is supposed to be a resource for all students.”
This sentiment was reflected by other members of the newly elected SGA executive board. Hannah Eckhardt, VP of Communications and Internal Affairs-elect and current Senator for the College of Arts and Sciences, said that taking decisive action is key to SGA’s success.
“I don’t think that there is a single thing that a student could come to SGA with that we wouldn’t be able to look at making some changes about. We can be the change that they want to see on campus,” Eckhardt said.
In order to ensure Bader is able to hear and act on all issues to the best of his ability, he proposed listening sessions, which would be informal opportunities for students to come and discuss any issues with himself and the other members of the SGA executive board. He said that he seeks to engage more specific groups on campus, including student athletes.
“I think our student athletes are underrepresented on this campus. They do a lot for this campus, and I think we need to get them more involved in the conversations,” Bader said.
A key part of Bader’s campaign promises and his plans for his presidential term rely on the representation of all students. He said that he will work to be a representative that students can trust to reflect their values.
“If I’m going to represent everyone, I need to know what everyone’s thinking as well. I don’t want to shape this university in my image, I want to shape it in our image,” Bader said.
Bader also emphasized the importance of student belonging on campus.
“It didn’t feel like home when I got here. I did not come here with a ton of friends and I struggled a little bit to find friends. Once I found friends and once I got involved in things, it changed and now I really am happy to call SLU my home,” Bader said.
Isabel Perez, a freshman studying Criminology and Criminal Justice, said that she related to Bader’s view about taking time to adjust at SLU.
“At first, I didn’t really join any clubs and I was really homesick, but once I started getting involved, I feel like I have a purpose here on campus,” Perez said.
Bader said he plans to foster feelings of inclusion through collaboration with the Office of Belonging.
“I’m looking forward to hopefully scheduling a meeting with Dr. Rochelle Smith, who is the Chief Officer of Belonging on our campus. I want to know what’s going on there and I want to be able to get students to be part of the conversation,” Bader said.
Bader also expressed his gratitude to the student body for their support in the election.
“Thank you to the student body for electing me and choosing me to be your next student body president. I am really excited. I am looking forward to it. I want students to know my door will be open,” Bader said.
WH " Butch" Oxendine Jr • Apr 16, 2026 at 2:38 pm
You’re done some great reporting on SGA voter participation in the past. What was the turnout in 2026?