SGA elections: Candidate platforms reach out to students

SGA elections: Candidate platforms reach out to students

Erica Terrini

News Editor

The Student Government Association elections will be held March 30 to April 1. Students can vote online at www.vcusga.com.

Candidates:

Joshua Ronk, SGA presidential candidate

Lisa Opie, SGA vice presidential candidate

Top issues:

Transparency

Leadership

Communication

Environmental efficiency

Tuition

“We want to address issues that are really what we need to focus on with VCU and the student body,” Ronk said. “We feel like these six are six that students have come to us and said, ‘These are really big issues that need to be discussed.’ ”

Ronk said there are many student concerns.

“We’re all about listening to what the students have to say,” he said.

Strategies:

Tuition – Ronk said students need to know exactly why the tuition is being raised.

“We never really get a breakdown of what the extra 10, 15, 20 percent addition to our tuition actually goes toward,” Ronk said. “It would be nice to know what the university actually plans to spend the money on.”

Environmental efficiency – Ronk said the university is taking great strides in becoming a greener campus and the SGA should work to continue that. Ronk said he and Opie would like to begin incorporating more green features into university buildings and infrastructure and speak with contractors, the Board of Visitors, administrators and faculty about green initiatives.

Transparency – “With transparency, I’ve always been a big believer that students need to know exactly what the university is doing and what the student (government) is doing,” Ronk said.

He said he plans to make the SGA more transparent to the student body through updates on the SGA Web site and by using more available media sources.

Communication – Ronk said the SGA has had problems communicating with the student body. He said he wants to do fireside chats with the Student Media Center and talk to the student body about what is going on with the SGA and the university.

Accountability – “We have to hold ourselves accountable to the student body and we also have to hold the university accountable as well.”

Candidates:

Adele McClure, SGA presidential candidate

Joshua Maye, SGA vice presidential candidate

Top issues:

We strive to achieve more transparency

Better communication with administration and the student body

More green initiatives

More student engagement

Increasing the quality of education

Easier access to student organization allocations

McClure and Maye say they strive for realistic solutions that they can achieve in their term—visible results.

Strategies:

Transparency – McClure said she and Maye want to increase student involvement on campus so transparency is very important for their campaign. She said she realizes a lot of students are angry with some university policies and may not understand why they are in effect. She said she hopes to better inform students about certain issues.

Student engagement – McClure said international engagement is another focus in their campaign. She says there is a lack of interaction between international and domestic students and she and Maye want to find a way to bring students together to create a more diverse environment within VCU. McClure said she and Maye also plan to hold a university wide sports event to encourage students to interact.

Easier access to student organization allocations – McClure and Maye say they want to ensure the resources that the university currently has are being utilized effectively and efficiently. McClure said she and Maye have talked with Student and Enrollment Services directors about hosting forums for students to discuss general concerns and the university can inform students of different resources available.

Increasing quality of education – McClure said she and Maye want to branch out and attract out-of-state students to VCU in order to raise university revenue.

Communication – McClure and Maye plan to uphold visibility with students by talking directly with students during student events and meetings.

Candidates:

Kanwar Singh Anand, SGA presidential candidate

Jim Thompson, SGA vice presidential candidate

Top issues:

Communication within the SGA

Improving academic standards

Improving student resources

Increasing student diversity

Strategies:

Academic standards – Anand said if he and Thompson get elected, they will focus on getting free electronic textbooks for students.

“Considering the people that come to VCU, I think it’s critical that we work with the university and provide grants to professors to write books, which the university can then buy and provide free of charge for our students to download on their e-book readers or their computers,” Anand said.

Thompson said he and Anand are currently working with the Center for Teaching Excellence to provide electronic textbooks.

Improving student resources – Anand said he and Thompson want to provide more scholarships, fellowships and student organization resources. Thompson said he and Anand want to improve student organization funding by transforming the funding process to be entirely electronic based.

“I want to make this an electronic platform,” Thompson said.

Because Wachovia works with VCU, Thompson said the university could set up a debit account for every student organization and the requested funds could be moved to one account and funds will be more readily available.

Increasing student diversity – Anand said he and Thompson will fight for students’ rights to ensure diversity remains one of the university’s strengths and continues to distinguish it from other universities.