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VOL. 52, NO. 10 / MAR. 25, 2013
2013 SGA candidate’s forum answers student concerns By STUART SOX sgsox@att.net
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he 2013 SGA candidate’s forum was held Wednesday night and was unlike any debate in years past. Complete with TV cameras and a host, JagTV recorded the event and posted the video on Facebook, YouTube and will air this week on JagTV’s channel. At the forum, candidates running for SGA attorney general, treasurer, chief justice, vice president and president answered questions from envelopes presented by the SGA elections committee, from Twitter and Facebook, courtesy of The Vanguard, and from the student audience in attendance at the event. The candidate’s forum was moderated by sophomore and broadcast journalism major Colton Bradford. “We hope to give you an in-depth look at the candidates for our campus’ student government,” Bradford said at the forum. Danielle Watson and Thomas Pearson are the candidates running for the position of attorney general, whose responsibilities include the SGA’s connections with the Stars Committee and
organizing Higher Education Day. Watson is a sophomore and a BMD major and Pearson is senior and a criminal justice major. From The Vanguard’s Facebook page, USA student Phillip Bell commented that the JagTran routes are outdated, especially for engineering students. When asked his opinion on this issue and how he would change it Pearson said, “Going through and mapping out where the JagTrans currently run and updating that system would not be very difficult to do.” On the same topic, Watson said, “I do believe we need to have more routes throughout the campus seeing that there are more buildings being added.” Sidney Jackson, a junior and accounting major, is running for treasurer unopposed this year. When asked by Bradford how he is fit for the job, Jackson said, “I was treasurer for my fraternity, which was a pretty big job, we do very similar things like set up budgets and appropriate money for good causes…also I’m an accounting major.” For the chief justice position Colin
Al-Greene, a graduate student in the MBA program, will be running against Vikash Pernenkil, a sophomore and biomedical sciences major. The chief justice oversees parking ticket appeals, supervises all activities of all judicial courts and keeps up-todate copies of the SGA constitution and code of laws. “Parking has been identified as an issue on campus…what regulation changes do you think would be beneficial to the university?” Bradford asked the candidates. “One of the main things I think can be improved on is improving the JagTran system…I think if it was a more effect system more people will use it and leave their cars parked in a separate location,” Al-Greene answered. “I feel like the SGA has done as much as it can and now it’s the administration’s part…when you go to park there are like 30 or 40 faculty spots empty…maybe transferring those over to student spots, if they’re not being used, would be a good idea,” Pernenkil responded. For the vice president position, William Pearson, a senior and infor-
mation systems major, is running unopposed. This office is responsible for presiding over weekly senate meetings, coordinating SGA related events and serving as editor of the student handbook, The Lowdown. “What do you feel is the biggest challenge at the university and how do you plan to use your role as vice president to impact it?” Bradford asked Pearson. “My main focus right now is getting the student center renovated… it’s going to take a lot of push from the students to get the administration rolling on those renovations,” Pearson responded. When asked about whether or not the campus can be made “wet” again, Pearson said, “I don’t see a problem with this at all…if we could make our campus wet on Friday and Saturday night it would entice students to stay and hangout on campus.” Running for president this is year are Riley Davis, a junior majoring in criminal justice, and Zakary GosaLewis, a junior and political science major. Davis currently serves as the SGA chief justice and Gosa-Lewis
currently serves as the SGA attorney general. The president serves as the official spokesperson for SGA and ensures accurate and updated records of SGA events, funds and inventory. The president also meets with the board of trustees and various other university committees. “Where do you see South Alabama in 10 years and how do you see the role of SGA growing and developing with the future vision of South Alabama?” Bradford asked both candidates. “I see South Alabama in the next 10 years in contest with Auburn as the second biggest university in the state… you’ll see Mobile become a college town and that’s going to improve our retention,” Gosa-Lewis responded. “In 10 years I see South Alabama flourishing…catering to students needs and their specific learning styles,” Davis answered. From the student audience in attendance at the candidate’s forum, Patrick Collins of the college of arts and sciences asked, “With the student forum of SGA, how are you going to drum See SGA DEBATE Page 3