SGA PLATFORM

Buck Levins, for President       Jennifer Martin, for Vice President

For Senator: Naveen Garg (A+S), Chris Hoofnagle (Law), Mike Runnels, (A+S), Malika Terry (Social Work), Rabun Wiley (A+S).

Every government should be built on the consent of the governed, not just the voting electorate. Every government should be committed to securing the rights of the population, not just protecting the interest of the faction in power. Every government should be a truly representative body. Through determination, coalition, and hard work, we believe that we will provide that government.

We hope that we can count on your vote on February 24th and 25th. We also hope that you can encourage your friends to vote as well. In our efforts to make SGA a truly representative body, we want to get the maximum participation possible. Don’t forget to vote Levins-Martin! Make your voice heard.

Student Government Association provides the greatest forum for students to voice their opinions on campus. Its existence is a necessary part of making our voice heard in the University. To that end,

These are some important issues that we would like to address:

1) The SGA should serve as a better liaison to the administration. Currently, the President is the student representative to the Board of Regents, Trustees, and other such groups. The President should have influence in other groups as well. Buck and Jennifer will work to have a student representative put on committees that choose new administrators with a direct effect on student life, such as the Vice President for Student Affairs. In order for the students to have a “real voice” on campus, they need a voice in choosing those administrators that can drastically affect their lives.

2) In better representing the students, the SGA should work to provide a better idea of what kind of teacher they are going to have. Simply having a breakdown of the grades is not sufficient to knowing “Who is?” their teacher. Buck and Jennifer will work with current legislation to have teacher evaluations published and made available through hard copy and web format.

3) The SGA should work to promote volunteerism on campus and in the community. Also, campus awareness needs to be raised concerning violence toward women. Buck and Jennifer want to work with the Women’s Studies Department and the Rape Crisis Center to create a 3-hour internship credit for students that are interested in volunteering in the Center and working to raise awareness on campus. This credit could be used for an elective credit or for the Women’s Studies major. This is very feasible because Jennifer knows the director and they both believe that this is a good idea. Also, Buck and Jennifer will work to have more “Blue-Boxes” on campus. The current boxes have a 20-second delay and that is too long. We will work to increase the number of boxes and the reaction time for these boxes. Student awareness and involvement is one of our biggest goals, this is an effort to that end.

4) The SGA should have a greater commitment to protecting a student’s education. If a student has the ability, then they should be able to triple major without a great amount of hassle. Although this is not a concern of large numbers of students, it does highlight a greater problem: multiple majors. Students in the College of Journalism have difficulty majoring in an Arts and Sciences major as well. In addition, some students, such as pre-law students, want to major in History and Political Science. This should be a single major, such as Physics and Astronomy. President Adams is concerned with creating new colleges; Buck and Jennifer believe that straightening out current major situations should be the first concern in “shuffling the deck.”

5) The SGA should demand more accountability form the administration. Several years ago, a $2 million loan was taken from the student activity fee and never repaid. Why? Where was SGA on this issue? Buck and Jennifer will work to regain a hold on how fee allocations are handled and ensuring that the students’ rights and concerns are never lost in the “red tape.”

6) The SGA should be a more representative body. Few people can argue that SGA is a “true” reflection of the student body. With only 8 independent members and one African-American, it is easy to see how many people view SGA as an “illegitimate” representative body. Buck and Jennifer want to work toward ending this view. Buck and Jennifer have worked hard to bring together a diverse group of individuals to run for senator and hope to continue that trend when elected. Buck plans to create a Minority Affairs Committee to help expand the voice of those minorities that in the past have not had as great an impact on student government. Furthermore, this committee will provide better access to student fee allocations for minority groups, which, in the past, have had difficulty gaining equal opportunity in those funds.

7) Housing is an issue that affects all students. Everyone has the equal right to housing and fair treatment in housing practices. If practices in one sector deteriorate without students voicing concerns, then it will not be long until other student housing rights are abused. Recently, the University’s Fraternities and Sororities have come under pressure form the administration for poor housing conditions. Buck and Jennifer want to work to help these organizations to maintain their houses. The President of the IFC and Pan-Hellenic council are already in the President’s cabinet; Buck and Jennifer want to help advocate the housing concerns of these organizations. Our plan is to have the organizations themselves be better coordinated in their efforts to protect their housing. We want to have the organizations get the jump on any administrative efforts by taking preventative steps such as having the Fire Marshal make inspections for them to make recommendations before he is sent to condemn the house. Furthermore, Buck and Jennifer believe that by mobilizing concerned alumnus, these organizations will be better protected. Buck and Jennifer will work to do these things in order to provide fair and equal housing for all.

8) Promoting our International Business major in the growing global economy should be a concern of the new SGA. Buck and Jennifer want to work to create an effective business exchange program with other countries. Following this, they will work to establish an annual International Business Symposium on campus. We have recently seen the success of such events in other areas. We also want to begin efforts to set up in UGA business programs in foreign countries. We have UGA at Oxford, why not a UGA Business Program in Hong Kong? Expanding the global market should be one of the most important concerns for the University. Buck and Jennifer want to work to do that.

We believe that we can provide the most effective student government for you. Buck Levins and Jennifer Martin would greatly appreciate your support and vote for SGA President/Vice-President!