Pride, tension, agreement, rebuttal – all of these added together equaled one very eventful and enlightening Student Government Association presidential debate on Wednesday night.
The four vice-president and presidential candidates argued it out in an attempt to win the votes of the attending students. Although attendance was relatively low at the start of the debate, it eventually rose to approximately forty students.
Topics discussed ranged from the candidates’ stand on the proposed House Bill 1893, which deals with the issue of carrying concealed handguns on campus, to whether or not Sam Houston State’s Spring Break week should be moved to correlate with the dates of other colleges’ breaks.
No matter which way the candidates answered the questions, however, it was obvious that the main concern of each, though varied in their approach, focused on the welfare and benefit of the students.
The platform outlined by current Student Body President, Christopher Yancy, mainly focused on continuing to make changes and putting aside personal differences to work together for the common good of the students.
“This year has been one of the best learning experiences of my life,” stated Yancy. “We have laid the foundation to sail smoothly into the next semester.”
In his agenda, Yancy mentioned increasing student involvement in SGA and gaining more student support behind issues. He also noted that he wants to attempt to institute an on-campus shuttle system, book more guest speakers for students and increase school spirit.
The focus of his opponent, External Affairs Chief Ryan Bridges, is to bridge the gap between the students and the administration.
“Our main goal is to increase the bonds and relationship between the student body and the student government, and the student government and the administration,” said Bridges.
He also said he wants to reach out to organizations on campus and see what issues are affecting them, increase student tradition, and increase freshman involvement on campus.
Bridges also said he wants to completely scrap and rewrite the SGA constitution in order to fix some of the holes and vagueness he sees in it.
Whether these candidates agreed or disagreed on issues, each of them demonstrated dedication to the university and to helping it’s students at the Wednesday night debate.
Polls open online for students to vote at 8 a.m. on April 15 and close at 8 p.m. on April 16.