Student government elections are next week and it is time for the SCSU student body to familiarize itself with this year's candidates running for the positions of president and vice-president.
This year there are only two candidates running for president and only two candidates for vice-president as well. Chris Lindahl is running for president along with his vice president hopeful Taylor Olson. Cory Lawrence is also running for president and Rachel Hughes is his running mate who is seeking to fill in as vice-president.
The head to head style of this year's election has both sets of candidates getting thoroughly prepared for the debates that will be taking place in the Atwood Mall on Thursday. All of the candidates feel confident in their ability to answer questions about many of the important issues that will face SCSU and its students during the Fall and Spring semesters of the 2003 and 2004 school year which is the term that the elections are for.
Lindahl is a fourth-year student majoring in theater and feels that his experience is unmatched by anyone seeking the position of the student government president. One of Lindahl's semesters on student government was spent as a senator for the College of Fine Arts and Humanities. Lindahl has also spent his past two years filling a senator at-large position on student government. During these two years as a senator at-large, Lindahl has also been a member of the legislative affairs committee which is a part of the student government that deals directly with Minnesota State Legislators. Lindahl and the Legislative Affairs Committee have recently announced that State Legislator Joe Opatz will be visiting SCSU next week.
The most important task that Lindahl feels he will need to fulfill if he is elected is student relations and concerns. Lindahl also believes that if elected he will be in a position to help bring the role of the student government presidential position to its actual purpose.
"Basically I am just trying to reestablish the position and give it back its original definition," Lindahl said. "The duties of the President is to be someone that is an external voice of the students."
Taylor Olson was Lindahl's only choice when it came time to running for the positions. Lindahl said that he feels that there just is no person that is better for the job of vice president.
Some people may argue that Olson lacks experience because she has never been a member of the SCSU student government. According to Olson, however, what those people do not know about her is that she is hardly inexperienced in organizational purpose roles. As a member of the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority at SCSU, Olson has been the vice president of operations in her sorority. In this position, she is in charge of getting bills paid and keeping her sisters on task, much like the role of vice president of student government.
"She (Olson) is the most qualified person for the position because she defines the position of vice president and she is very approachable," Lindahl said.
Cory Lawrence is no stranger to the SCSU student government. Lawrence is in his third year of school at SCSU and is pursuing a degree in secondary education. Lawrence has already been busy as a senator at-large, representing the whole student body on student government.
The presidential position, in the eyes of Lawrence, needs somebody that is going to tackle the issues that matter to the students of SCSU. The budget and tuition problems are some of Lawrence's largest concerns for the next school year.
"There has to be a strong advocate for the students with the budget for next year," he said. "I figure that someone with experience for the position (of president) was important."
Rachel Hughes is Lawrence's running mate and is campaigning for the position of vice president. Hughes has past experience on student government as a senator; Lawrence chose her as a running mate because of her dedication to her work. Hughes has also had work in the admissions department of SCSU.
"I wanted to run with somebody that had great experience, and I know that Rachel has been working hard at her position on student government this year," Lawrence said.
Both Lawrence and Lindahl have agreed that the president is to be there for the students and that there are many issues that SCSU will face in the coming year.
Both candidates feel they can be an adequate voice of the students. The candidates feel that the traditional issues at SCSU, such as parking problems and tuition hikes, will be a lot of their work. But there are other issues, like Aramark food service contract negotiations, that each candidate will address in a debate this Thursday.
The important fact that both candidates are aware of is that there are countless issues that they are going to have to deal with. As of now, both are focused on getting the chance to take on that very variety of issues.
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Name: Cory Lawrence
Year: Third
Major: Secondary Education, Social Studies Emphasis
Minor: Human Relations
Position: President
Goals: "This year, students will face the brunt of the budget short fall. If elected one of the most important things I will need to do is make sure the administration looks for alternative ways to make cuts on campus. Students." |
Name: Rachel Hughes
Year: Fourth
Major: Secondary Education, Earth Science Emphasis
Minor: Communication Studies
Position: Vice President
Goals: "With the budget crisis in Minnesota, St. Cloud State is going to be hit pretty hard. I hope to make the impact on students less severe. St. Cloud State needs to come up with creative ways to solve the budget problem." |
Name: Taylor Olson
Year: Third
Major: Accounting
Minor: Finance
Position: Vice President
Goals: "I would work hard to make sure all students are represented equally. I would work to efficiently manage the inner-workings of the student government body, as well as the office." |
Name: Chris Lindahl
Year: Fourth
Major: Theater
Minor: None Listed
Position: President
Goals: "I want to run an efficient and effective student government that will represent the school more on the state government level." |
