Student Government presidential candidate Clay Tufts said he didn’t expect to run for president when he came to the University as a freshman.
His running mate for The Next Step ticket, Taylor Lambert, played a role in convincing him to run for the position. While Tufts attended Jesuit High School in New Orleans, he worked with Lambert for student government while she attended St. Mary’s Dominican High School.
“I thought about [running for president] but wouldn’t have done it unless Taylor asked me about it,” Tufts said.
The Next Step Ticket said one of their main focuses for their campaign is service.

“We want to hit heavy on Geaux Big Baton Rouge and set up a possible semester-long project,” Tufts said. Tufts also proposed a philanthropy project that would work with the Wounded Warrior Project to help raise money for Baton Rouge soldiers.
Tufts said his passion for service stems from helping out with mission trips back home. He has been on mission trips to places like South America and helped renovate schools in the Yucatan Peninsula.
“It feels so good and so right to help somebody and to be involved in the community,” Tufts said.
It’s Tufts’ third year in SG and he currently serves as the director of external affairs and as a small group leader for the freshman leadership council.
As a political science junior with a business minor, Tufts said he wants to either attend law school or business school in the future.
The Next Step also wants to reach out to more businesses in Baton Rouge to have more sponsorships in the future.
The candidates said they have already received great student feedback.
Lambert said many of the students appreciated the proposed renewing library fund, which would add more desks and computers to the Middleton Library. Students also showed interest in campus lighting and testing center parking, they said.
Lambert is a junior who is currently a Center for Advising and Counseling council president, a small group leader for freshman leadership council and an ambassador.
She said she enjoyed serving as a S.T.R.I.P.E.S. leader this past summer.
“It was great to know that I could impact students before they become freshmen, that’s the best reward I’ve ever seen,” Lambert said.
The biggest surprise for Tufts from election season is the joy of campaigning.
“Its like ‘Oh my god, why do I like this?’ There’s so much to do, but I’m enjoying this for some reason,” Tufts said.
This is the first in a two-part series featuring the Student Government presidential and vice presidential candidates.

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Lauren Duhon

Student Government vice presidential candidate Taylor Lambert (left) and presidential candidate Clay Tufts (right) are running on The Next Step ticket for the 2014 SG election.