This article was posted with written permission from Amanda Morales, Editor-in-Chief, Central Florida Future.
SGA candidates aim to impact student participation
By Ashley White/Central Florida Future
This year’s SGA presidential candidates will be the last campaign to pass the pizza.
Despite the idea that most voters only vote to get free stuff, the presidential candidates of 2014 still hope to create informed voters.
“I want students to be as informed as possible, and I want them to know that their voice matters,” said Jessica Gottsleben, a senior double majoring in radio-television/broadcast journalism and political science pre-law.
Gottsleben is running as president with Lucdwin Luck, a political science senior, as her vice president.
“What we’re doing is having campaigners outside of the tent intercepting those people before they come and get food so they’re informed of what’s going on,” said Weston Bayes, a political science pre-law junior.
He also said that they will push voters to learn about the other candidates before they vote.
Bayes is running as president with Sydney Altfield, a senior majoring in event management at Rosen College of Hospitality Management.
Bayes and Altfield’s platform will focus on the unity of campus.
“We feel that campus is polarized, so we want to make sure that we’re standing together and bringing everyone together and using the services we already have to the best of our abilities,” Bayes said.
Due to the recent budget shortfalls, Bayes and Altfield feel it is best to look at current resources and adjust those services rather than create new ones.
“Some things haven’t been working as well as we want them to work, so it’s just taking what we do have instead of looking for brand new ways to do things,” Altfield said. “Why not just take what we have and revamp and make them better and stronger?”
Gottsleben and Luck are hoping that their different and diverse backgrounds will be a strength for their campaign.
Luck said Gottsleben is a traditional student; she started at UCF as a freshman and is non-Greek.
Luck, on the other hand, is a transfer student, a brother of the Theta Chi fraternity and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran.
A focus of Gottsleben and Luck’s platform is community.
“It is inclusiveness, addressing diversity, making sure every student, regardless of what background they came from, [is] represented,” Luck said.
He is focused on what students have to say and said that he has talked to students about what their concerns are even prior to the petitions.
“My time in SGA, it may have been short, but it was enough for me to see the disconnect that SGA had with the student body,” he said.
Gottsleben said that their platform is extensive, but they plan on fulfilling every goal.
“We plan to accomplish every single thing on [our platform],” Gottsleben said. “We don’t make false promises or large promises.”
Their platform seeks to encompass every student.
They want their campaign to reach students at the regional campuses, not just the UCF main campus, and fix the disconnect that exists, Gottsleben said.
“We’re revolutionizing knighthood because knighthood is what knighthood means to [students],” Gottsleben said.
She said their platform contains ways to fix, transform and revolutionize things on campus.
The strategy that Gottsleben and Luck will use is integrity.
Gottsleben said that if they are elected, they will lead in a transparent way.
She also said their strategy isn’t about winning more votes; it’s about making sure students feel included.
Gottsleben and Luck’s full platform is available on their website at jessicaluck2014.com.
Gottsleben hopes that students will take the time to read their full platform and vote from home if they feel more comfortable that way.
Students can also email Gottsleben and Luck items they wish to see addressed on their platform.
The full, detailed platform for Bayes and Altfield will be announced at The Moat Sports Grille at 9 p.m. on March 16.
“It’s a great way for students to come out and see what our platform is about and hear it from us personally,” Altfield said.
She said that she wants to make sure that not just their friends, but all students know their platform and are involved.
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