Courtesy Faulker/DavidsonThe time for the
In the running are partners Chris Faulkner for president and Josh Davidson for student trustee.
Since his freshman year of college, Faulkner has been involved in student government. He began as a member of Washington Hall’s house council in the Southwest Residential Area, and became lieutenant governor of Southwest Area Government in the beginning of his sophomore year. During his spring semester, he earned the position of governor, which he stills holds.
Faulkner, a junior biology major, believes it is the experiences he has dealt with in these positions that qualify him to be SGA president.
Davidson, a resident assistant at John Adams Hall, was appointed senator by Faulkner earlier this year. This standing motivated him to run for trustee.
‘Being in the senate, and seeing the problems we have with the SGA, opened my eyes,’ said Davidson, a sophomore pursuing a double major in political science and economics. ‘I think there are things that need to be fixed, so I decided to step up.’
Both candidates stress that the SGA has not had a positive relationship with the administration, which is something they hope to change.
This will be done by having a higher focus on looking at the SGA internally and how it benefits students and by reshaping the kind of culture of the SGA, he said.
‘The SGA has been lacking in creating a voice for students on campus,’ said Faulkner. ‘We want to increase the ability of students to have their voice heard.’
They plan to make this new reform happen by creating more relationships with Registered Student Organizations (RSOs), formulating a list of priorities of what students are interested in, and efficiently proposing that to the administration.
‘Student government should be a resource for students on campus, but the SGA hasn’t done enough of that,’ said Davidson. ‘The SGA should provide resources for all students to advocate about their events, not just to focus on their own advocacy.’
By reevaluating and re-tasking positions in the executive cabinet, Davidson said he hopes not only to improve the SGA as a whole, but to create a position that deals only with RSOs as well. This way, he said, more attention and focus can be given to those students.
A more accessible and up-to-date website is also something Faulkner and Davidson plan to accomplish if elected. Information about the SGA, what it does and a place for RSOs to advertise their events and activities will be present on the new site.
An effort to form better involvement of the SGA with area governments and house council is another important part of their campaign. Increasing communication between the groups will allow for the SGA to be more informed of current events, and of any issues that transpire.
Davidson hopes that a regular contribution to The Daily Collegian, written by the executive branch, can be published to inform students of what’s going on in the SGA.
‘[The Collegian] is a tremendous resource to take advantage of,’ he said.
Faulkner stresses that he and Davidson are students, just like any other on campus, and intend to focus on providing students with things they need.
This will be done by working closely with the administration, and improving educational and social experiences of students on campus, such as bringing wireless Internet to the dorms, and creating a better relationship between students and the UMass Police Department (UMPD), so that UMPD is looked at as more of a resource than something to fear.
Overall, Davidson wants students to be less apathetic toward the SGA, and encourages its members to be more involved in student government.
‘More than us winning, or any plan we have, we want a higher voter and student participation in student government,’ said Davidson. ‘A lot of students don’t know what the SGA does and that absolutely has to change.’
Jessica Sacco can be reached at [email protected].
