SGA EVP Candidate: Corey Gray

IMG_9741– Your major and post-grad goals.

Political Science, Pre-Law

I have aspirations of attending Howard University for law school, practicing Human and Civil Rights Law and then finding my place in the federal government, both state and national level.

– How you’re involved on campus.

Outside of my current involvement in the Student Government Association, I am involved in the Georgia State University Panther Band as a Drum Major, University Housing as a Resident Assistant and Director of Selection and Induction for the National Residence Hall Honorary, Peerless Perfexion as Event Coordinator and a mentor, Kappa Kappa Psi National Band Fraternity as the Music Chair, and I also serve as the 2015-2016 Homecoming Duke at GSU.

– What is your previous experience with student government?

In high school, I served as the Student Relations Chair for our student council (or student government).

– Do you or have you held any positions in SGA?

Currently, I am a Senator for the College of Arts and Sciences here at our Atlanta campus.

– What is your biggest accomplishment so far?

My biggest accomplishment thus far would be having the opportunity to use my voice to influence and enable others to find and use their own voice. I have been afforded the amazing opportunity to sit on a few remarkable panels at Georgia State University, including the “State of the Black Union” through the Office of Black Student Achievement and “Manner Matters” through Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., and on these panels, I used my voice to discuss equality among all races, what we as African Americans must educate ourselves on and practice to break the horrific statistics that face our community, and manhood in our society today. This is my biggest accomplishment because I am a strong believer in student activism and student involvement, and being afforded the chance to share my voice with my peers is indescribable.

– What is your platform?

My platform is Scholastics, Safety and Support.

Scholastics

  • Implementation and execution of 24 hour library space
  • Bring more scholarships to our students via organizations and offices on campus to give more students the opportunity to afford college.
  • Work with the Office of Admissions to explore the chance of extending the Class/Drop Deadline

Safety

  • Safety Seminars in collaboration with GSUPD. Have officers come teach courses and seminars on various topics surrounding safety.
  • #GSUnitedFront/#GSUSafetyMatters: hashtag where students take pictures of places around campus where they feel unsafe and use these pictures to implement two “Campus Safety Walks” each semester where we as students will walk the campus with GSUPD and administration and learn how to avoid unsafe areas through alternative routes to academic buildings and other locations on campus.

Support

  • Have SGA Executive Cabinet Office Hours posted on “sga.gsu.edu” so that it is accessible and easy to find for all constituents to meet with their officers and representatives.
  • Commuter Community/Transfer Territory! Implement a program that gives direct support to our transfer and commuter students. Implement a mentorship system where a new commuter/transfer student will be paired with a student who has been commuting or has transferred to GSU and has been here for over a year. Have a website/chat room where commuter students can communicate with one another, meet new classmates, find people to carpool with and interact with during class breaks.

– What are the biggest issues on campus right now?

In my opinion, the biggest issues on campus right now are safety and community. Safety will always be a main concern on our campus being that our campus in engulfed in this global city we call Atlanta, however, the administration at the Atlanta campus has taken tremendous strides to making our student body feel safe again after the well known incidents that have happened recently, and if elected, I will continue to work hands on with administration to ensure the safety of our student body. Being that our university is in such an urban environment, those students that do not stay in housing do not get a sense of community. This is why I wish to implement the Commuter Community and Transfer Territory programs. These programs will truly give these populations of students the community they need to get accommodated with Georgia State, and a family outside of their own.

– What do you hope to achieve if elected?

If elected, I first hope to get accomplished everything that myself and the rest of our board has laid out to implement in this upcoming year. I also hope to ensure the betterment of our student body, and hope to be a transparent representation of our diverse student body at our Atlanta campus.

– How are you different from the rest of the candidates?

What most people will find within this race is that this is extremely competitive. My two opponents are both intelligent individuals who truly care about the student body at our Atlanta campus. I do believe that the difference between myself and the other candidates would be that my passion for student government and student voice has prompted me to truly dedicate my life to the voice of all in our country. I recently changed my major from Music to Political Science simply because I genuinely love helping and caring for people, and I have a passion for finding solutions to any problem that is put in my path. Outside of that, there is nothing in my platform nor is there any promise that I will make in this race that I have not already began working on as a Senator. With that being said, everything in my campaign in practical, realistic, and transparent.