Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of profiles on the Student Government presidential campaign. The candidates are listed in alphabetical order by presidential candidates’ last name.
As the spring 2013 Student Government elections draw near, T Graham S. Howell and Kaitlin Torké are preparing for a presidential and vice presidential campaign to improve the way SG is run.
“Kaitlin and I have chosen to run because we believe Student Government is not serving at its full potential,” Howell said. “There is a lot that must be changed in order for the organization to make an impact on the student body and the University.”
Howell, a mass communication and psychology junior, and Torké, a mass communication and political science junior, said they are running on the theme of “Impact.”
“We chose the slogan ‘Impact’ because we believe that that is where Student Government has failed,” said Howell. “It is the job of Student Government to advocate for students and this University; unless we have an impact with what we do, our job could be viewed as a failure.”
Howell and Torké hope to make changes at the University through a series of 25 initiatives, which include focuses on academics, student life, transportation, Baton Rouge and the LSU community.
“Last year, some of the themes were ‘Your LSU’ and ‘Be Heard LSU,’ and it’s fine if you want to be heard, but unless the people who get in office do something, there is no impact being made,” Howell said.
Student safety, protecting the University from potential budget cuts and improving the academic environment on campus are areas in which Howell and Torké hope to improve if they are elected.
Howell said he has been involved in SG at the University for the last two years and gained SG experience at the University of Tennessee during his freshman year.
“Having an outside perspective, as well as the knowledge of how things work at LSU — what has failed in the past, what isn’t currently working — makes Kaitlin and I a unique choice between the two tickets on the ballot this year,” Howell said.
Howell and Torké said they believe the primary goal of SG is to serve and advocate for students and the University.
“We feel that SG is a true advocate of the student body as well as the University as a whole,” Howell said. “That is why we will also effectively seek the student position on the LSU Board of Supervisors.”
The student position on the Board of Supervisors is a position chosen from the different student body presidents in the LSU System.
One thing Howell and Torké said they are determined to improve is communication.
“We need to hear the voices of the 30,000 students on this campus, not just the voices of those in Student Government,” Torké said.
If elected, Howell and Torké said they will confront the issues of disorganization and transparency within SG.
“The biggest thing that needs to happen in Student Government is an increase in transparency,” Torké said. “We are thinking of implementing a press briefing or monthly newsletter so the average student will know what is happening every week and every month.”
Howell and Torké will make their official announcement at 11:30 a.m. today in the “echo circle” of Free Speech Plaza.
Voting in the general election will open at 7 a.m. on March 11 and close at 6:59 p.m. on March 12.
“Kaitlin and I have chosen to run because we believe Student Government is not serving at its full potential.”
