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SGA elections coming soon

The Student Government Association Election Platform Wednesday night in the Powell Hall Auditorium was packed with supporters and candidates ready to let their opinions be known.

The debate included all of the candidates running for the executive positions of comptroller, secretary, vice president and president of SGA in the 2011 election.

Presidential candidates Jasmine Coer and Graham Davis highlighted the event with their platforms on how to change SGA for the benefit of students.

Coer, a junior, marketing major who has been in SGA for three years as a senator and currently as comptroller, referenced her experience in SGA in order to show that her credentials were superior to her counterpart candidate Davis.

Davis, a sophomore, political science major cited his readiness to step into a leadership position and his work in his fraternity as why he should be the next SGA President.

Both differed on many crucial topic throughout the night including admissions, scholarships, town hall meetings and VSU sports .

Davis proclaim that the integrity of VSU is diminishing because admissions allows some students with below average GPAs to attend, yet Coer argued that these same students help pay for the expansion of VSU’s campus just like the students who did not graduate high school with subpar GPAs.

Coer spoke of eleviating book cost for students hurt by the deductions in the HOPE scholarship and proposed creating a “VSU Book Scholarship Foundation.”

The scholarship will give money to students who qualify with a 3.0 GPA, a personal letter on why they deserve the help and a committee made up of administrators and Coer herself will determine who will receive the book scholarship.

Davis disagreed that a book fund was needed because it may cost additional money for students to fund such a program.

Town hall style forums for students with concerns were a big topic for Davis and his constituents running alongside his platform.

He and his Vice Presidential candidate Derika Powers said that having these meetings along with a few senators and executive committee members would be a good way for students to be heard.

Coer said that such a meeting would be unnecessary because that SGA is open to the public to attend and voice opinions, but attendance in meetings is typically sparse.

Coer proposed a countermeasure already discussed between her and President Dr. Patrick Schloss called, “Chat with Pat,” a forum where the president will willingly field questions from students and answer concerns.

Coer also proposed that incentives should be given to sports teams who bring more fans to their event.

Davis countered that idea with the proposition that VSU should get a new stadium and more tailgating for fans at the school and in the community.

The crowd was divided in their support for both candidates and most cheered for whoever made the best point.

The races for comptroller, secretary and vice president were intense.

All three races include four candidates with different reasons on why they should be voted into the positions.

Many candidates provided unique background stories on why they were most qualified.

Comptroller candidate Brittany Briscoe stated that she is best fit because she comes from a big family and has experience balancing a big budget.

Secretary candidate Trevisha Jonas said that her love for VSU is one of the reasons that she is qualified for her position.

To vote, elections will be held April 20-21 on the VSU website.

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