For the Average Student: Josh & Amanda

Photo by Courtney Erland.
Student Government Candidates Joshua St. Louis and Amanda Johnson.

Why are you running for office?

St. Louis: We feel that the student government has become out of touch with the needs of the average student.

Do you have a specific campaign platform?

St. Louis: I really want to make sure people know what Student Government does. I want to create a website just maintained by the executive branch to tell people what we do. I want to increase the Town Hall Initiative. I want to make my office open to everyone, so people can come and tell me their concerns. I want to make a State of the Union Address at the beginning of the second semester. And I want to create an office of an Attorney General, so that students’ rights can be protected and so if they have a complaint they can bring it to that office.

What do you anticipate as being the main responsibilities of office?

St. Louis: The main responsibility of Student Government is to serve the student body population and to advocate their needs. Really, we see the office as being a student’s voice to Dr. Merten and the administration.

What do you see as the most important issue that needs to be addressed by SG, and what is your approach to solving it?

St. Louis: The budget is the most important in terms of what I’ve been to talking about with students. They’re concerned about tuition going up, they’re concerned about housing going up, they’re concerned about food prices going up. And that concern is justifiably so because when we look at our budget and see where money is being spend, students are going to be outraged, which is justifiably so as well. And they really need to see what our university’s priorities are because I feel that once we show that our university is spending money on frivolous things, it’ll be an embarrassment and they will change their minds and spend their money on the students where it belongs.