EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the third in a three-part series showcasing the Student Government presidential and vice-presidential candidates. The stories will run in alphabetical order, according to the last name of the presidential candidate.
Unlike others running for Student Government presidential positions, David Scotton said his campaign is not a ticket, but a movement to change the status quo of SG.
The “More for LSU” campaign aims to address college affordability and the lack of fair representation in SG.
After a negative experience during his time as a UCFY senator his freshman year and seeing how SG has operated since, Scotton said it is time for change.
“I kind of came in with a new mindset and new ideas, like communication and what we should be doing, and it wasn’t taken very well,” Scotton said.
Scotton said while running independently for Student Senate, his peers in SG did not approve of his new way of doing things. He said other SG members tried three times to disqualify him from the race and tried to force his support of a ticket.
Unlike Scotton, his running mate Moe Ahsan said before their campaign, he had no interaction with SG.
“I was never approached by them, never connected, never talked to them, knew what they did, didn’t know their message, didn’t know what the purpose of them was,” Ahsan said.
Learning what SG was capable of motivated Ahsan run with Scotton.
Before their campaign, Scotton and Ahsan said they learned that 89 percent of student felt SG did not do enough outreach. Scotton said if SG is supposed to represent the student body, this figure is pathetic.
“We’re seeing an organization that’s not reaching its potential, especially right now in this time of budget cuts,” Scotton said. “We need to end this popularity contest.”
“More for LSU” has released three initiatives so far: “Professional Job Shadowing,” “Patrolling the Lakes” and “Text Notifications.”
“Professional Job Shadowing” is collaboration between SG and Career Services to allow students to get hands-on experience in their future careers.
The “Patrolling the Lakes” initiative wants to rotate police patrols around the lakes to provide a better sense of security to joggers, according to their website. Ahsan said a part of their campaign’s goal is to let students know what SG is doing — optional weekly texts from SG will help with their efforts.
To incite political change, Scotton, Ahsan and a small group of students stood on the Capitol steps Feb. 20. With them was a petition signed by more than 1,000 students calling for constitutional protection for higher education.
“Why were they (SG members) not out there getting student signatures? Where are they? That’s why we’re running,” Scotton said. “We have the working relationships and the ability and mindset to begin to properly organize and gather student opinion and send it to the legislator. And we just did that and we’re not even elected.”
Scotton said SG needs leaders with real-life, outside experience, not just backgrounds in Student Senate and said “More for LSU” has that experience.
The campaign will address college affordability by turning SG’s “wasteful spending” into 42 new scholarships.
“It’s time for us together to break the status quo of student government,” Scotton said. “It’s time that we represent the entire student body. And it’s time that we fight the real issues. And it’s time to take this seriously. We are not a ticket, we are a movement. And that’s why this election season is so important. We can set a standard for future years.”