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SGA candidates debate campus issues
Effectiveness of SGA, diversity key issues
at debate |
David Forbes
SGA Beat |
Peter Larkins |
The Appalachian |
Issues such as Student Government
Association effectiveness and diversity on campus marked the debate
between SGA presidential and vice presidential hopefuls Tuesday
evening.
Candidates Patrick G. Cash and H. Dustin Bayard
on one ticket and Rachel A. Johnson and Lauren N. Linville on the
other answered questions from a panel made up of representatives
from the Black Student Association, The Appalachian, campus American
Civil Liberties Union and the Greek community, as well as the audience.
Both tickets expressed differing views on how
to increase the effectiveness of student government.
“For the past five years, the Board of Trustees
has not listened to SGA. I feel that student government is, in a
way, a sinking ship. Those who are left are die-hard; they’re
working very hard for their constituencies. Those that have been
weeded out are gone,” Cash said. “Until students realize
that the Board of Trustees is not going to listen to students the
way things are now, until students become active with pep talks
like this one. Talk it up, that’s the only way it’s going
to change.”
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“I want to work with the student
newspaper next year to get a column where we can address students
to say what’s going on in SGA. We’d also directly look
at how senators are going to their constituencies because they can’t
represent if they’re not going,” Johnson said. “For
off-campus senators we’d institute an adopt-a-senator program
where off-campus senators would get a list, and they’d go down
that list and get in touch with those students.”
“One of the things we want to do to build
a working relationship with students and SGA is to form a committee
called the police, judicial and traffic affairs committee. This
committee would work to defend the rights of all students in cases
of judicial affairs and traffic. It would also investigate the grievances
students have with those policies and would ensure that the students
would be aware of the rule and the rights that they have,”
Bayard said.
“SGA was established to bring forward the
thoughts and emotions of the entire student body. One of our main
ideas is to get senators enthusiastic about it because emotions
are contagious; people need to get excited about going to RSA, going
to meet their constituents,” Linville said.
Diversity on campus was another issue that came
up, both in questions from the panel and the audience.
“I think [Associate Vice Chancellor for
Diversity] Harry L. Williams is doing a good job, and I’d like
to see that continue. There’s obviously not enough diversity
on campus. The larger base of diversity we have, the larger the
base of thought here,” Johnson said.
“I’m as close to a black nationalist
as a white person can be. Seriously, I wake up every morning and
I listen to Malcolm X,” Bayard said. “We understand that
the minorities on campus feel under-represented. At the same time,
I think we often forget diversity of thought, diversity of mind.”
Students can vote for either ticket online at
www.appstate.edu until 4 p.m.
Friday. |
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