» By Chaseton Donahoe
Staff Writer

The candidates for the 2013-2014 Student Government Association held their annual executive committee debate on Monday, April 1, in UC 308.

The presidential candidate Michael Rainier is running unopposed, but vice presidential candidates Jessica Dillingham and Patrick Grady explained some of their goals for the next academic year.

Grady became interested in running for SGA because he saw it as a good way to get involved with the campus as a whole and work more closely with the faculty.
“My interest began because I’ve seen the ways that the Vice President is able to get involved,” Dillingham said. “I want to help people, and holding this position is one of the best ways that I can do this.”

One of the questions asked was which piece of legislation each candidate had worked on was their favorite.

“My favorite piece of legislation that I worked on aimed to help make the voting process more secure,” Grady said. “This piece made voting less vulnerable to coaxing students into voting for a candidate that they might not have initially picked.”

Dillingham chose a piece of legislation she worked on that pushed to remove Styrofoam to-go boxes from the cafeteria, because the to-go boxes are not biodegradable. “I want to help our campus be more eco-friendly,” Dillingham said.

Grady emphasized that he would push senators to write good legislation and to get ideas for legislation directly from students and that would get students more directly involved with how campus is run.

Grady’s ideas for change on campus included pushing to make APSU more eventful, especially on weekends.

“I also want to start surveys for how we can better run campus events,” Grady said. “I hope to get students involved on campus as soon as they arrive for their first year.”
Dillingham said she would like to improve the connections between the SGA and the student body, and work towards more communication between the two.

“I aim to increase awareness of SGA involvement and help make APSU greener,” Dillingham said.

Both candidates urged students to vote in their closing statements, as it is a great way to let students be heard on campus and get more involved. Voting for the SGA elections are Tuesday, April 2- Thursday, April 4.

To vote, students can go to www.apsu.edu anytime or go to one of the polling stations in front of the library and in the UC plaza between 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Voters will automatically be entered for a chance to win prizes, including a 24” TV, a DVD player and an iPod dock.