Being the most accessible Student Government president and vice president in the history of SG is just one objective of the “Vision 2008” campaign. SG Director of Athletics Dixon McMakin and College of Agriculture Sen. Kristen Oaks formally announced their candidacy for top SG offices Monday afternoon. Their motto: “One team – one mission – one vision.” A packed house of friends, family and campaign staff gathered in the Holliday Forum of the Journalism Building for the announcement. Presidential candidate McMakin and vice presidential candidate Oaks said “Vision 2008” is based on accessibility, accountability, communication and safety for students. To achieve accessibility, McMakin said they plan to spur action within the administration to ease student problems. “We would like to be out in Free Speech Alley with a different administrator to address the needs of all students,” McMakin said. Accountability is a second undertaking of the “Vision 2008” ticket. “We want the students to hold us accountable for our actions,” McMakin said. The pair signed a petition called Enhancement of Security Measures and Addressing Immediate Concerns as part of their campus safety initiative. McMakin said the ticket wants to increase the visibility of crosswalks, provide more light access on campus and e-mail holiday safety tips. McMakin also said he wants to work with administrators to register more students with the emergency text message service. McMakin said they carefully picked the names behind the Dixon-Oaks campaign to emphasize the importance of communication. “There’s not a soul on the face of this earth that calls me McMakin,” he said. “And all of Kristen’s friends call her Oaks. We want to be called by what we go by.” Some initiatives on the Dixon-Oaks platform include implementing a free DVD rental program in Middleton Library, Tiger Card-free admittance to the University Recreation Complex and online publication of teacher evaluations. McMakin said he has seen the toll bringing a Tiger Card to the UREC can take on a student. He said he aims to create a fingerprint access system to ease student stress. McMakin said he also wants to create the “Mayor’s College Council” to allow collaboration of LSU, Baton Rouge Community College and Southern University. He said the council would meet once a month with Mayor-President Kip Holden’s administration. He said the idea is to improve city needs appealing to LSU students. “We will address the issues students face outside the gates of LSU,” McMakin said. Other initiatives of “Vision 2008,” include providing a four-year degree flow chart for all University colleges, creating a syllabus database accessible through students’ PAWS accounts and fighting for a Thanksgiving holiday extension. Oaks said her time as a senator made her frustrated with the obvious divide between students and SG. “Students’ wants and needs are not always being heard, and they’re not being conveyed to the administration,” Oaks said. “Part of our vision is to bridge this gap through communication.”
—-Contact Natalie Messina at [email protected]