Three student groups are gearing up for a battle to win the University of Tennessee student body vote and take on important roles in the Student Government Association. Campaign week, which begins on March 20 and ends with election days on March 27 and 28, is sure to be interesting -- the spending cap has been raised to $10,000, up from last year's $5,000.

Students for a Just University
by Evan Hill

A glance at the Students for a Just University page on Facebook.com reveals ambitious goals for the upcoming election platform.

Presidential candidate Brian May, a junior in chemistry, and vice-presidential candidate Katie Williams, a junior in public relations, promise to improving parking, tackle issues of racism, raisie environmental responsibility, ensure fair pay for faculty and establish a system to hold campus police to high standards of service.

May believes his inspiration to run for office is different than that of the other candidates. "I'd rather be volunteering, but I think someone should step up," he said.

May and Williams believe "stepping up" should involve more than just passing bills. "The administration knows SGA isn't serious," Williams said. "They give out hot dogs for a week before election and that's about it."

The two candidates don't plan to give out free stuff to get votes -- they plan to talk to as many students as possible about the issues they feel are important and hope that students will vote for them because of their solutions to problems like parking.

To improve parking, May and Williams want to implement a policy that will prohibit students who live in the nearby Fort Sanders area from purchasing commuter parking permits. They believe this will lighten the load on overused commuter lots.

"Commuter lots are for commuter students," May said. 

The candidates also would like to end the practice of making students who have evening classes pay for parking in commuter lots during sporting events.

Another goal of Students for a Just University is to promote diversity on campus.

"Diversity is important," Williams said. "Not just diversity of color, but diverse experiences, which are achieved when people from different backgrounds come to this campus."

To achieve diversity, May and Williams want to accomplish goals such as reinstituting the African-American Achievers scholarship, developing an oversight committee to discuss issues that minority students have and including the Black Faculty and Staff Association in SGA efforts to put pressure on the administration to diversify UT faculty.

They also plan to establish another oversight committee to monitor the actions of the UT Police Department. May believes UTPD should exist to serve students and that, to ensure a high standard of service, there should be a method for holding the department accountable.

Though the Students for a Just University candidates have no experience in UT's student government, May and Williams are familiar with political processes: May was SGA president of his high school in Chattanooga, and Williams has worked on two political campaigns in the Tri-Cities area.

Action
by Chris Koogle

John Rader, Action's presidential candidate, and Anna York, Action's vice-presidential candidate, want to build on current programs at UT. The two hope to show students that they are ready to take charge of the student government through their involvement in the UT community and their experience in campus organizations.

York is a student advisor for the Board of Trustees; next year she will become a voting member. She said being a member of the board for the past two semesters has helped her connect with other campuses and student bodies in the UT system.

"It's been extremely helpful this year and next year it will be better," she said.

York also serves as SGA student services director, and said that has helped her in preparing for a possible move up.

York and Rader both served on the Freshmen Council; Rader moved on to become involved in the Greek community on campus as president of his fraternity, Sigma Chi. He also is involved in the Interfraternity Council.

"It's taught me how to deal with alumni and administrators," he said. "It was overall a large learning experience and my brothers were very supportive."

York and Rader said they will be creative with the extra funds available due to the raised spending cap by staging "ingenious" events. A large part of the campaign will revolve around telling students about their "Five Point Action Plan."

The pair's plan promotes an environmental friendly campus. Rader and York have been working on reducing the amount of "eyesores" on campus. "The main point is addressing something to cut down on the sporadic chalking," York said.

The candidates are calling for more kiosks to provide organizations with an alternative to using chalk to reach out to students. Rader said he also has been hard at work installing recycling bins around Fraternity Park. "We saw the Greek community come together for that cause," he said.

The group would like to form a senate diversity committee made up of UT Chancellor Loren Crabtree, faculty members and students to probe issues on diversifying the campus in all areas.

"It's to promote diversity and celebrate it," York said. "John and I feel we are the only ones who can pass these policy points."

More information can be found on the Action campaign page on Facebook.com .

Vols Unite
by Chris Koogle

Vols Unite candidates Jon Papaik and Keaton Williams plan to stick to a low-budget campaign in spite of this year's $10,000 spending cap. Their goals are to inform students and promote them while providing a secure environment on campus.

Papaik, the group's presidential candidate, is working to complete a double major in Finance and Accounting, with a minor in Hotel Administration.

Papaik has experience working with various campus organizations. As a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon, he served the Student Alumni Associates as president and vice-president. He also spent his sophomore year in the Student Senate.

During campaign week, Papaik said he hopes to show students that they can use SGA as a valuable resource. He said that, if elected, he will make sure the student body web page becomes a student portal to resources such as Blackboard and Circle Park Online.

"SGA should not be promoting itself, but promoting students," he said. "We want students to be aware of what they have."

Williams, a journalism and electronic media major and the group's vice-presidential candidate, said "Vols Unite is about the students. Everything we do is for the students. We want to allow students to use SGA."

Though Williams has never been a part of the Student Senate, she has gained experience by attending SGA meetings and working on election campaigns. She also is an executive member of the Alpha Delta Pi ethics committee and a member of the UT student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Williams, who lacks only 16 hours to complete her degree, will have to stretch the rest of her college career into two semesters if she is elected - but that doesn't worry her. She said she feels doing so would give her more time to be a receptive SGA vice-president.

"As vice-president you need to have time to answer questions," she said. "I have helped work on campaigns and watched what people did in meetings. But to actually do it yourself is so cool."

Papaik wants students to find out more about Vols Unite. "I challenge a person to find someone who knows us to understand we are doing this for students," he said. 

For more information about the campaign, Facebook.com members can check out the Vols Unite page.