A group of candidates running for the 2014 election for the Student Government Association (SGA) senate have formed a campaign ticket called “Team Ethics.”
According to candidate Joash Thomas from the College of Arts and Sciences, the primary issue the ticket observes is the lack of transparency and accountability the SGA has with the student body.
“While I do respect and appreciate the work and contributions of previous SGA leaders, I believe that a lot more can be done with respect to making the SGA actually work for the students it is supposed to represent,” Thomas said.
Thomas said he was first inspired to bring ethics reform to the Georgia State SGA during his time at the capitol when he observed state representatives and senators actively advocating for ethics and transparency reform. He said he came to the conclusion that these same efforts could be applied at the local student government level.
“Team Ethics can play a huge role in helping the student body connect better with the SGA and vice-versa,” Thomas said. “By introducing more honesty, accountability and transparency, we believe that we can help students see the SGA as a platform for them to voice their concerns about campus issues instead of just an office where they can get free blue books.”
Garrett Koehler, candidate from the Robinson College of Business, said his reason for joining Team Ethics was to make the SGA more personal and accountable to the students who voted them into office.
“From my personal experiences as a student the SGA has never been as accessible as I would have liked. They have the student forums and the website but those are very impersonal ways for a student to voice an issue to the SGA,” Koehler said.
The other members of the ticket are David Jackson Jr. from the College of Arts and Sciences and Jacob Pogioli from the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. These four candidates formed the Team Ethics campaign together. Their proposals include ways of increasing contact between themselves and students.
According to the campaign platform, the candidates will be hosting a weekly coffee where students can come in and speak with them about issues they want addressed on campus.
“While the SGA does have Town Hall styled meetings that we plan on attending, we believe that a weekly coffee (at least with the members on our ticket) is an efficient way to get students to feel comfortable to discuss campus issues concerning them in a casual and unstructured format over a beverage that most of us are addicted to anyways,” the platform states.
The candidates will also be giving out their personal phone numbers so students can contact them about issues that concern them. According to the platform, the candidates hope that by making themselves accessible, the SGA will be made accessible and accountable.
According to the platform, if elected, the candidates plan on using social media to educate students on what goes on in SGA meetings by posting on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram how they voted and a brief description of why they voted that way.
“These measures will help us be transparent with the student body that entrusted us with the noble task of representing their interests,” the platform states. “This level of transparency will also prohibit us from resorting to petty politics and power-play while helping us to streamline our focus on effectively dealing with the issues at hand.”
Thomas, Koehler, Jackson and Pogioli are all newcomers in the SGA. Their platform states that they are a group of ethnically and ideologically diverse students who seek to influence the way the SGA functions with their fresh ideas and unique perspectives.
“We aspire to provide GSU students with the opportunities and means for the student body to hold the SGA accountable,” Thomas said. “It is time for the SGA and its leaders to pro-actively reach out to students and encourage them to hold them accountable instead of waiting for the opposite to happen.”
