Zahriah Balentine
Staff Writer/MC301
The battle for Student Government Association and Royal Court positions are heating up at Jackson State University.
Campaign season has sparked campus-wide attention and debates that allow students to get up close and personal with their future leaders.
Students assembled at the Student Center in Ball Room A on Wednesday, March 27, to meet candidates vying to represent the student body for the 2019-2020 academic school year.
In total, there are 60 candidates running for one of the 40 positions in the SGA— class councils, executive, judicial, and legislative branches.
Hosted by the election committee, candidates addressed questions from students on topics ranging from school pride to bridging the gap between current students and alumni.
It did not take much time for the debate to get intense as students and the election committee asked relevant questions.
Most candidates were confident in their answers and notions and it showed as the audience applauded for each response.
One of the current senators and candidates for Vice President, Zaniqua Bullock, a junior chemistry major from Atlanta, Ga., introduced one major adjustment for upcoming elections.
“Campaign season will no longer be a battle for the wealth. One of the changes that we made was to limit the amount of days people can buy food and campaign using food. We did this to get more people to campaign and run. One of the main issues with campaigning was ‘it’s too expensive’ or ‘I just can’t afford it’. So, one of the ways that I was able to fix that was to limit how many days we are buying votes,” Bullock said.
Bullock continued, “They will only be limited to two days and the rest of the days you will have to be creative. That way more people have an opportunity who can afford to campaign and actually run for these positions.”
Gabrielle Allen, a junior business management major from Kansas City, Mo., is one of the candidates who’s competing for SGA President.
Allen addressed how she would implement new ideas caused by negative feedback from students and staff because being the president requires criticism from others.
“The reason I decided to run for SGA president is because I’m willing to take backlash from the student body, faculty, and alumni because I know that most students don’t really know what’s going on behind the scenes. I decided that I want to do this position because for me I’m going to give you the real answers and take a backlash from it because I know as students you’re not going to know everything. I’m not going to know everything,” said Allen.
Allen continued, “When it comes to receiving criticism I take that to my heart because I need you to know as president, I’m not going to leave you all blinded… Criticism is something that is necessary and if you all aren’t giving me that and I win, then I know I’m doing something wrong.”
Jordan Jefferson, a junior political science major from Jackson, Miss., is the second runner for SGA president.
He addressed transparency in the LGBTQ community and the people he plans to reach out too more.
“My goal as SGA President is to reach out to those who are underrepresented like people in the community because they do not get looked at. I want to use the SGA budget to work with LGBTQ, sexual assault, and dating violence,” Jefferson stated.
Jefferson went on to speak about and the initiatives he wants to undertake for students to be successful.
“As a student body, we’re not doing well with transferring to graduate school. In my major we have LSET service. It’s a prep class so you can do well on the LSET and I want to add more of those classes,” Jefferson stated.
He finished by ideas he had to help preserve our school’s legacy and housing for international students.
“I want to bring back the school yearbook, and a school Hall of Fame. It’s something that will give the student body something to remember. So why not start our own legacy? I want to work with international students regarding housing on campus during breaks because it’s so expensive to go back home. The international development has been dismissed so that’s why I also want to work with JSU global,” said Jefferson.
Rosemary Thomas, a sophomore mathematics education major from Indianapolis, Ind., and is another student fighting for the junior class senator position.
She explained the significance of students attending election events and supporting the potential leaders on campus.
“I feel like it’s important for students to come out and support the event because you need to hear who your potential leaders are and what plans they have to make changes on campus,” said Thomas.
Campus wide elections will take place on April 5 from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
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