Meet this year's candidates

April 3, 2006 —

Student Association and Program Board elections begin tomorrow. Here's what each candidate would like to see changed at SVSU.

Elections begin tomorrow at 9 a.m. Vote at www.svsu.edu/voting. Results will be posted Friday in the Student Life Center.

Student Association Presidential Candidate

Andy Suszek, junior I would like to see more unity in the student body of SVSU. To accomplish this goal, we need to have more going on outside of classes that students can buy into. These types of things can come in the form of anything from sports games and concerts to campus wide fundraisers and political speakers.

Program Board Presidential Candidates

Crystal Dillard, junior After being a member of Program Board for over a year now, I feel like now is the time for me to step up to the position as president and bring in my ideas and my experience to the board. I want to be president because I feel that the students deserve an organization that has them in mind. I believe that I could help in getting high quality events throughout the year.

Eric Skibbe, freshman I currently serve as the treasurer of Program Board and see how students' money is spent. I know what it takes to run a proper budget and I want student opinions of what the concerts and programs should be.

Student Association Representative Candidates

Brittany Giordano, freshman I would like to see people at the beginning of the year help the scholar's students that want to move in before their retreat. I believe that SA could have a group of volunteers who would help welcome these students.

Chris Younk, freshman Of the things that I would like to change at SVSU, the most important is the lack of unity on campus. I feel that by taking a position on the Student Association, I can help find ways to bring the groups on campus closer together.

Brittany Griffin, senior I would like to see more student collaboration and better acceptance and cooperation between students. I think SA can facilitate this through large campus events and collaborative programs.

Jennifer Yocic, sophomore I would like to see a wider variety of opportunities available for students. There would be greater involvement if there were more open mic nights and tournaments for cards or pool. SA could support these events.

Ashley Verner, junior I'd like students to be more aware of what SVSU has to offer. It's been a goal now for the last three years to promote a campus culture. SA has done a great job promoting issues students face, but we still lack a campus community.

Kristina Hester, senior I would like to see SVSU offer more structured resources and programs to help students prepare for grad school. Student Association could be used to help bring this problem to the forefront and address it by implementing new programs.

Delia Kashat, junior I feel this is a wonderful opportunity to engage in further campus involvement along with adding diversity to the Association. I will commit my time and energy to guarantee that the concerns of students are being met.

Tori Oxley, junior I would like to see an increase in commuter involvement on campus and revisions or updates made to the alcohol policy. SA has the manpower, money, and resources to make influential changes.

Nick Kitchen, junior Having a strong background in technology, I would like to see students have a greater technical understanding and be aware of possibilities that SVSU may not have explored yet.

Julie Akright, sophomore I would like to see more collaborations on campus, as far as programming goes between SA, Program Board, and URA or Residential Life.

Carly Toyzan, junior I would like something to happen with the proposal I helped write a few years ago. It proposed support for service learning opportunities in the general education requirements. I believe SA can push this harder and do more to promote service opportunities in general.

Jon DiBartolomeo, sophomore I would like to see this campus become a more social campus. I feel that I can help SA by getting a stronger voice out there by using all fraternities and sororities on campus about social events.

Jeanna Byers, freshman I would like to see more unification on campus. All students are paying to attend school here and everyone is entitled to enjoy their education. This should not be limited to those students who live on campus.

Bridget Charland, freshman Some changes that I would like to see at SVSU include healthier food in the RFoC and more student involvement. I feel that Student Association can help make these changes by talking with the students to get their input.

Mari Pionk, freshman I have been pleased with most of the things at SVSU, but I think we need to work on our school spirit and student involvement at sporting events.

Ashley Isaacsen, freshman The changes I would like to see on campus are for our campus offices and organizations to work together to create an even better university and for SA to continue to be the official voice of the students.

Libby Isanhart, freshman I would like to see more advertisement for open forums and getting the students more involved in what we are doing for them.

Nick Madaj, senior I would like to see a more cohesive campus community that is a source of pride among all students for our local community. A representative SA can lead the way in bringing positive change to SVSU.

Chelsea Robl, freshman Next year at SVSU, I'd like to see more cross organizational cooperation and programming. As a major RSO on campus, I believe that SA can spark this change by reaching out to other student organizations.

Barb Gordon, sophomore SVSU has a lot to offer. The one area I find lacking is a connection between residents and commuters. A lot of times when I talk to commuters they don't know what events are going on or how to get involved.

Steve Lewitzke, junior The student government is the official vehicle to crafting change. I aspire to empower a Student Association fellowship, in which students could enhance their correlations with the government. I will advocate utilization of technological resources, such as online radio and let it become our next frontier towards uniting students.

Lauren Cwik, freshman Coming to SVSU this year as a freshman, there were many activities planned for our first weekend. However, this program made many feel childish. I would like to see this program improved.

Eric Read, sophomore We have a great amount of diversity, but we mainly see our differences. I think SA can help us find common ground by getting people to roundtables, programming, and funding that promotes diversity.

Brittany Burns, freshman I would like to see more students participate in on campus activities. We need to promote attendance at activities for residents and commuters.

Ashley Thomas, freshman SVSU needs a bigger emphasis on academic excellence. I feel this can be accomplished by having more rewards for those who are high achievers in the classroom such as scholarships. These would be an incentive for those struggling to work harder.

Aaron Brown, junior I feel that with the diverse representation within SA could help push for more high level degree offerings. Perhaps by showing a bigger support for more Master Degree programs we can increase not only the status of the university but also the types of events and programs for the students.

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