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By: NEIL KING
Staff Writer
The Student Government Association president, vice-president, treasurer, secretary and all the senators are running unopposed for the fall semester, with current president Lee Cohen graduating this spring.
That hasn’t stopped the candidates from developing strong goals that will shape the student experience next year, and if they have their way, for some time to come.
As a senator, newcomer Danielle Cagle, junior, believes her voice is an important because, at 33 years old, she views her ability to represent non-traditional and traditional students alike as a great opportunity.
A big issue that Cagle has some personal stake in resolving is the outsourcing of the daycare on campus. As a single mother, the ability for her and those like her to have a trusted daycare staff on campus is very important, she said.
When she heard about the school outsourcing the day care center she decided that she wanted know more about how decisions concerning funding for different departments worked.
“I think it’s the same in politics everywhere. You don’t really understand the process until something affects you,” Cagle said.
Cagle is a double-major student in criminal justice and psychology and is the vice president of the Criminal Justice Association.
She said that running uncontested isn’t really affecting her mindset.
“I don’t want just 20 votes,” Cagle said. “That’s not me. That won’t satisfy me.”
It is important to Cagle to visit different club or social events on campus to try and garner an understanding of why some are more successful than others. Her goal, she said, is to help student life solidify her on campus and to help promote things that are funded.
The end goal, Cagle said, will be that students will be able to more easily create a solid connection with campus and enjoy their experience as students more.
The idea of increasing student life and the success of on campus events is one president-elect Justin Chupp, senior, shares with her. Chupp believes that the current methods of communication, such as the bulletin boards, aren’t succeeding at communicating with today’s student.
He would like to research other ways of reaching students and faculty alike. One of the main points of his political platform is the need to boost communication efforts to connect students, organizations and faculty in a more effective way.
Chupp’s interest in running for president is wanting to make a difference on campus.
“I love being the change I want to see,” Chupp said.
The president-elect is currently a general studies major with a minor in political science. He also said that he thinks it’s interesting to understand how the government works. It helps him, he said, in being a better citizen.
Another goal that Chupp would like to see happen while he is in office is an increase in students using all the tools available to them on campus. This goal, he said, is intertwined with finding new routes of communication with the student body.
“The student government is not a position of power, but a position of service. We’re here to represent the student body and their voice,” Chupp said.
