STORY BY CORIE LYNN
In preparation for the Student Government elections, current SGA President Adam Schibi interviewed Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates, Brad DeMers and Michael Musgrove.
The interview, which took place on the morning of April 16, was streamed online.
During this time, Schibi asked the candidates questions regarding plans for the next year and their thoughts on the issues that the SGA deals with throughout the year.
The first question he asked about the importance of students voting in the election even though they are running unopposed.
“As far as voting, one of the important things to remember is that you’re not just voting for an unopposed ticket, you’re also voting for your senators,” said Musgrove, “and those are really, really important.”
He continued by reminding students that the senators are the ones they can approach with their problems and who represent the student body for the school year.
Both he and DeMers agreed that it’s important for students to know who represents them to the university.
They then discussed allocations, which is the SGA’s yearly process of funding campus organizations, and how the candidates planned to revamp the process in the coming year.
Musgrove stated that they would like to move the location of the allocations form, something that had been discussed within the Student Senate.
They would also like to make changes to the allocations workshops by making them more like workshops where organizations can receive help in filling out their forms.
“I think with that being top on our platform…it will greatly affect all student organizations because if some have decided they’ve had trouble in the past and don’t want to apply because it’s been so hard, it can now open up that door for potential funding,” said DeMers.
Schibi then asked them to speak on Open Educational Resources, which aim to provide free or reduced-cost textbooks to students. The Student Senate has worked throughout the year to bring OER’s to FHSU and recently passed the resolution that will implement them at the university.
“I think that sometimes there’s a lack of knowledge of these resources,” DeMers said, “and with that, hopefully, we can let some people know about that.”
Musgrove added that professors are supportive of implementing OER’s, but were previously unaware that it was an option for their classrooms.
One of the SGA President’s jobs is to meet with the Kansas Board of Regents. Schibi asked how DeMers planned to represent the university to them and to the Kansas State Legislature.
DeMers said that he and Musgrove discussed creating college-wide town hall meetings, allowing students to meet their senators and bring their voice to issues on campus.
He hopes that through this, he will be able to bring more of the issues that impact FHSU to the attention of the Board and the Legislature.
The two candidates continued to discuss student engagement during the interview.
According to Musgrove, the idea of the town hall is to encourage engagement between the SGA and its constituents. He would also like to make students aware that speaking in the open forum during SGA meetings is an option as well.
“[W]hile obviously they can bring their concerns to their senator, they can bring their concerns right to the Senate floor and I think a lot of people really don’t know that,” Musgrove said.
According to him, part of the problem is that students don’t know what the SGA is and he would like to amend this by engaging with Freshman in the coming year.
Musgrove went on to praise the diversity of Fort Hays and to say that to continue to encourage that diversity, he will focus on listening to others and the ideas brought to the Senate floor.
Later, DeMers praised the current administration’s positive relationship with the student body, which is partly due to the open-door policy of the SGA office.
“[A student-led office] is supposed to be that kind of open space where people can just have fun, scream, but also where business gets done,” he said.
Schibi went on to ask how they plan to continue to foster the relationship between the SGA and the students.
Both DeMers and Musgrove answered by emphasizing that the SGA is there to work with organizations. While the senators may work on implementing policy at the university, they are there to work with students through any problems that arise.
Schibi’s final questions were aimed to allow students to get to know the candidates’ personalities.
He asked Musgrove, who is known for speaking and reading quickly, if the administrative assistant will be able to keep up with him while taking minutes.
Musgrove answered that he will do his best to slow down in order that everyone is able to understand him, administrative assistant included.
Schibi, who actively shares his love for Tryyaki on Twitter, then asked DeMers which Hays restaurant he will promote.
While DeMers doesn’t have a restaurant in mind, he said that he will promote his own love of the little Dillons grocery store on West 27th Street.
In their closing remarks, the candidates emphasized that, though they are unopposed, they have used the campaign to build the relationship between the SGA and the students.
“We’re both doing this because we’re passionate about it,” said Musgrove, “We want to see it succeed. We want Fort Hays to succeed. We want every student to have a great experience here or have the opportunity to have a great experience here. That’s really what it’s all about.”
The full interview is available online.
Voting opens April 17 on TigerLink and in the Memorial Union, and closes April 18 with the results posted that evening.