SGA Profile: Morgan Mickey Hunter want to be a unifed voice by 'Making More Happen'

Morgan Mickey Hunter is committed to ‘Making More Happen.’

Morgan Hartgrove, Michael James “Mickey” Curtis Jr. and Hunter Jones are three juniors running for student body president, vice president and student services director because they want to be the unified voice that brings students together.

“Each of us have something different to bring to the table,” Jones said. “As a whole, we make a cohesive unit of different perspectives and that’s something we really talk about with our campaign.”

Hartgrove and Curtis have been members of SGA since their freshman year, but Jones on the other hand, has not. Jones has been involved with other leadership roles on campus, but it was not until Hartgrove and Curtis asked him to run for student services director with them, when he started thinking about it.

“It was something I really thought long and hard about because I had never been a part of SGA,” Jones said. “But, I think that having that outside perspective could really do some good for the student service division.”

Hartgrove emphasized that SGA was the first thing that made her feel like home on campus, and she wants to spend her senior year giving back by serving as the student body president. She wants students to feel just as at home as she did when she came to campus.

Curtis expressed concern that certain populations on campus are not represented fully and how he wants to make sure all voices are heard.

Jones emphasized that the student body does not understand each other and that there is no unified voice. With different perspectives in this campaign, Jones feels that between the three of them, they can work toward a common goal which he hopes will bring positive change to the student body.

Morgan Mickey Hunter has five pillars in their campaign. One pillar is promoting academic enrichment. This involves improving academic resources that students already have.

Hartgrove said their campaign wants to expand Open Educational Resources (OER), which will help students save money by using free electronic books. They also want to add a Kaplan test prep center as well as expanding the syllabus repository, so students can know what to expect in a class before registering.

Another pillar is promoting campus unity. This involves creating a safe space for the Multicultural Greek Council and the National Panhellenic Council to call their own.

They are also promoting safety on campus and in the Fort Sanders area by advocating for reduced Uber fares for students.

“We plan to have reduced Uber fares for students,” Curtis said. “We understand that the T-link is overbooked sometimes when you call it. So, to have that Uber and that reduced price will increase that safety.”

Curtis said this would give students a safer option, rather than walking down a dark street or dark alley to get to their final destination, especially during high traffic volume weekends throughout the academic year.

As for the alcohol policy, Jones said their campaign wants to take a holistic approach by outlining the changes and how it would affect students, ensuring student voices would be heard in the changes.

Another pillar is to expand campus resources. This includes expanding TRECS hours over the summer, reducing the amount of hours required to use the student health center over the summer and expanding technology accessibility in the summer.

“If you’re taking classes in the spring and also in the fall, there [will not be] a gap between when you have those resources,” Hartgrove said. “We’re pretty passionate about expanding that.”

Another policy under this pillar is allowing students to pay one parking ticket per year with community service.

The last pillar is improving student code of conduct processes. Jones said this is important for ensuring transparency and making sure a fair system is in place, where everyone is treated equally.

Aside from policy points, there are things many people might not know about the candidates.

For example, Curtis listens to the same song every night with his friend.

“For some reason it just comes on,” Curtis said. “It’s called ‘Great Day to Be Alive’…we are both facing a new time in our life and a new transition, whether that’s me running for this position or her doing a pageant that she has never been a part of. So, the song basically says ‘it’s a great day to be alive, I know the sun’s still shining when I close my eyes. It’s a hard time in the neighborhood, but why can’t every day be just as good?’.”

As for Hartgrove, she has paid over $500 in parking tickets at UT and she regularly volunteers at the Children’s hospital on Monday nights. Last year Jones had the opportunity to speak with former president Obama in the Oval Office, and discussed how the Boy Scouts of America affects youth leadership and how Obama’s agenda items aligned with the goals of their organization.

If voters only remember one thing about the Morgan Mickey Hunter campaign, Hartgrove hopes they remember them as people.

“That’s why we’re running on our first name, that’s why we picked Morgan Mickey Hunter,” Hartgrove said. “…I hope they remember how we made them feel. I want them to know we’re going to represent them to the best of our ability…I want them to know our hearts are into it.”

For more information on the Morgan Mickey Hunter Campaign, visit their Facebook page. Voting begins Monday, April 10 at 9 a.m. and closes on Thursday, April 13 at 5 p.m.

Featured image courtesy of Morgan Mickey Hunter’s Facebook page

Edited by McKenzie Manning