It’s once again SGA election season on campus and the campaign season is in full swing for the two parties running this year.
Students are typically given two public opportunities to interact with the candidates. One of these opportunities is the “Meet the Candidates Forum” that was held March 19 and the other is the “Candidate’s Debate” which was March 26. The voting will be open on April 3, in the UC or online at www.utm.edu/election from 10a.m.-6p.m.Â
At the Meet the Candidate Forum, each party was given time to introduce candidates and explain the positions of their campaign.
The Pro-Student party headed by Nashville native and sophomore political science major Devin Majors, expressed that they would like to ensure funding for student organizations as well as have a complete reform of the way SGA runs. They also said they want to focus on student relations, cultural separation, student involvement in SGA and making UTM a home away from home. Pro-Student Party’s Vice-Presidential candidate is Brandon Anderson and their Secretary General candidate is Esmeralda Mejorado.
The Unified Martin party is headed by Daniel Jones, a junior business management and marketing major from Franklin. Jones expressed that the focus of their party was to build connections between students and administration as well as uniting the students on campus. They also said they wanted to unify students through inclusion despite difference. Running for Vice-President of the party is Jade Bleskey and the Secretary General candidate is Lora Moore.
When debate time rolled around, each party had an opportunity for opening statements and then they were presented with eight questions from SGA Advisor John Abel.
The Pro-Student party won the coin toss and gave their opening statement first. Majors spoke on the diversity of their party and listed six plans they have for the upcoming school year. These included the funding of organizations and multicultural groups, better events in Martin, more Greek plots, increasing school pride and giving students more dining options.
After their remarks, Unified Martin took the floor where Jones said he would like to see students and senators working together as a student body and getting their voices heard. He then yielded the floor to Bleskey, who spoke on student involvement numbers and the divide this creates. Moore then discussed her desire to eliminate office hours for senators to allow them to get out onto the campus and encourage transparency between SGA and the student body.
Following opening statements was the question portion, where the parties rotated who answered each question first.
What do you believe is the greatest challenge facing SGA in the coming year?
Jones expressed that knowing how to unify students was an issue and could be addressed by opening channels of communication to get information about legislation on campus to students. Majors countered with the fact that the greatest challenge is how SGA will regain the trust of the student body. Majors said that it is important the students know their voices will be heard and some major reform of the group is necessary, checking that all of their proceedings are in line and that the SGA holds itself to a higher standard than previously done.
How do you plan on changing perceptions of SGA within the student body?
The Pro-Student party expressed that the issue was all about the integrity of the people in the organization and their reputations. The key is getting senators involved with the students. Unified Martin said that it was about looking to the future and bringing the campus together as a unified-whole rather than being separate groups of people.
What is the most pressing academic issue to address?
Bleskey, on behalf of Unified Martin, said that the issue lied within the classes offered and the classes students were taking. She also emphasized the importance of transfer credits and finding a better system to assist students. Also, Bleskey addressed changing midterm grades and the need for review days or dead weeks. Majors spoke for the Pro-Student party and addressed three issues their party had with academics. These include a possible reform for academic advising, finding out the purpose of all student fees and trying to cut them down and getting professors involved outside of the classroom.
What non-academic issues need to be addressed?
Anderson, Pro-Student party, said getting students and faculty members to games and events would greatly benefit school spirit. Another issue the party had was giving resources and facilities to the many active multicultural organizations on campus. Moore, Unified Martin, expressed that including family and alumni at events like tailgating and adding to the involvement of student organizations and departmental clubs in events could help the atmosphere of connection.
What can the current administration do to support SGA?
Bleskey said that the true issue was the current SGA not communicating with the administration and that the line of communication was necessary to head off any issues that may come up so that students are aware of what is going on. The Pro-Student party said that they would like to see the administration providing more oversight and getting more involved than they currently do. They explained that members of their party attempted to get listening sessions earlier and would like to see more training and a greater emphasis on student voice.
What is the greatest issue on campus and how can SGA help find a solution?
Majors said that the enrollment of minorities and students in general was of concern and on the best thing to do is to appeal to high school students. Unified Martin responded by saying student retention was a concern of theirs and that by creating a greater sense of community on campus, they could more effectively address concerns.
How does the administration support diversity and inclusion on campus?
Unified Martin explained that the amount of out-of-state students and international students should not be ignored, and that through engagement the sense of community will increase. Mejorado, Pro-Student Party, said that the current issue is that the diverse groups on campus are not showcased enough and the diversity of campus should not be minimized to one week a year, but instead be addressed all of the time. Anderson also addressed the inclusion of all Greek organizations on campus and ending the separation of diversity groups on campus by seeing more academic inclusion while letting students know administrators and SGA members are approachable.
How can the administration gather feedback and student input?
Both parties addressed senators interacting directly with students in different ways; whether by forums, emails, referendums or newsletters.
The debate ended after the final closing remarks which were full of thanks, reminders to vote, party mottos and requests for those assembled to stay involved with SGA.
The public campaign has been a whirlwind for the candidates and it was obvious during the debate that they were all flustered. The candidate’s answers were unprepared, which often caused the responses to be repetitive. It was expressed that possibly receiving the questions prior to the debate may have aided the candidates in avoiding stumbling over words.
Voting will take place Tuesday, April 3, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. in the UC and online at www.utm.edu/election.
Senator candidates for each party are listed below and students are reminded that they are not required to vote for all candidates from one party and may vote for any combination from the two parties.
Pro-Student Party Senators:
College of Business and Global Affairs
- James McCloud
- Eskya Smith
- Hunter Johnston
Health, Education and Behavioral Sciences
- Jameela Ahmad
- Luke Winters
- Logan Golden
- Logan Hendrickson
- Ashton Sawyers
- Dominique Poe
- Malia Sanders
- Audrey Adams
Humanities and Fine Arts
- Jonah Brody
- Jagger Lampkins
- Jason Repath
- Gill Whitaker
Engineering and Natural Sciences
- Julian Echols
- Kiana Hope
Agriculture and Applied Sciences
- None
 Unified Martin Party Senators:
College of Business and Global affairs
- Casey Wiater
- Jordan Long
- Emily Searcy
- Preston Carter
Health, Education, and Behavioral Sciences
- Cassandra Winslow
- Grey Hawk
Humanities and Fine Arts
- DeQuad Jimmerson
- Annie Harris
- DeAndre Adams
Engineering and Natural Sciences
- Courtney Spires
- Brady Heath
Agriculture and Applied Sciences
- Michael Samko
- Jacob Butler
- Tristan Turner
- Cheyenne Deweese
