The race has begun

The search for a new president and vice president for Prairie View A&M University's Student Government Association entered its final phase as the 2011 presidential and vice presidential debate was held Tuesday.

Junior nutrition major Christine Williams, junior communications major Jarren Small, and junior criminal justice major LaShun Neal are campaigning for the office of student body president. Junior criminal justice major Nickolas Hallman and junior architecture major Trevon Heath are running for vice president. The SGA positions will be filled on April 5 after voting.

With previous elections in mind, students are pushing the vote for productivity over popularity. Prairie View A&M University is facing many challenges in the upcoming year.

Many students feel the need to elect a competent student body president and vice president who can facilitate progress and uplift the university.

Williams said, "There is a dire need for Prairie View students to realize their own potential and truly love themselves. Hello? You're awesome. You're great. Why not act like it? The main issue is that students have no hope. We must hold ourselves to a higher standard. There should be no more blaming it on being 'black.'"

As one of two female candidates this year, Williams has built her campaign on the idea of "HOPE," which stands for "Helping to Obtain Personal Excellence." The five main issues on which her platform stands are increasing university revenue, enhancing and maintaining quality educators, "communiversity," the betterment of customer service on campus, and fostering the value of history.

"Communiversity is taking what we, the students, learn in class out to the community. This work would be a form of building revenue for the university and keep our own funds circulating so that we can have the necessary funds to do the things we want to do without soliciting assistance from the state," Williams said as she explained her platform. "Because we're looking at some downsizing, hiring new teachers might not be possible, but we could at least push that idea. Also, increasing the quality of our current teachers is important. We need to be confident in those who are primarily responsible for our education."

The quality of education and resources has recently been a key issue within certain colleges on campus. Students were complaining about outdated degree plans, lack of resources and building space, and an insufficient number of professors and courses.

Small said, "It's important to stay firm on those who are leading us. When I was working for the communications department, I had to consistently follow up with the dean and department head with ideas. Eventually, we received full electricity and new computers in Hilliard Hall, but it shouldn't take all that. We should be able to use the resources that we're spending our money on."

Small and vice presidential candidate Heath collaborated to build a movement titled "We Are Voice." The program is based solely around students and builds upon the current "Restoration" campaign. Small is advocating factors such as a transparent senate with a direct hotline for students, directories on campus, and scholarships available to students directly from SGA funds.

Small said, "'We Are Voice' is not a platform. It's a movement based on God that requires everyone's participation. Often we find ourselves looking for results from SGA. We want to give efficient, tangible results that can be seen quickly. We want students to understand exactly what the senate does so they can judge for themselves whether or not we're working for you. If you can come in and witness what exactly goes on, you can build your appreciation. This requires the reconstruction of the Student Government Association, Campus Activities Board, and Panther Advisory Leaders so that we can focus on what's important: the students."

According to Small and Heath, the prospective scholarship promoted through "We Are Voice" will help alleviate students who have to pay for their education with little or no financial assistance.

The hotline will be implemented to build the accountability of the student leadership, starting with the president and vice president. If the responsibilities of the senators are not fulfilled, they will be fired immediately.

Small said, "When students, faculty, staff and visitors come on campus, I want them to know that Prairie View is about business. It's time that we take Prairie View more seriously. Being black is perfect. Attending an HBCU is a great thing, and Prairie View is a model of that. Students ultimately have the power. The problem is that not many of them understand that."

"Changing the View of Prairie View" is Neal's program, which is built on changing the perspective of Prairie View in the eyes of the students and prospective students. Neal wants to implement activities such as concerts and dinners on the lawn, a weekend shuttle to Cypress for students, optional meal plans and an increased travel budget to fund more university trips.

Neal said, "Prairie View has been in this same cycle for the past couple of years. When I first came to Prairie View, student life was 'on it.' However, over time, this has changed. People are pumped up on athletics, yet there are all these miscellaneous fees popping up on students' fee receipts. Basically, people are just fed up with student life. This is spilling over to the freshmen and prospective students. I came up with my platform just by answering this basic question: what do the students want to see that they haven't seen?"

In Neal's mind, Prairie View has lost its "flavor." The experiences that older students and alumni have shared aren't the same experiences as the current freshmen and sophomore students. With the freeze of MIP on campus, student activities were left to CAB and other organizations around campus. By pushing for unity on the yard, Neal believes that many activities and interests will be sparked among the student body.

As the current faculty liaison, Neal said, "Let's stop talking about it. No more talking, just action. Everyone in this university will have to give up something in order for the university to succeed.