Editor’s note: This story is the second in a four-part series on the Student Goverment campaigns. The candidates will be presented alphabetically by last name. Students will expect Student Government presidential candidate J Hudson and vice presidential candidate Dani Borel to put their needs first if elected.Hudson and Borel announced their candidacy last Wednesday in Free Speech Plaza with the slogan “StudentsFIRST.”The pair picked the slogan as a short, catchy phrase to describe their goal of putting students’ needs back on top.Hudson said he first had the idea to run for office when former SG President Colorado Robertson was in office. Hudson was then serving as chief justice and had an appointment with Robertson in his office. “[Robertson] got on the phone and started calling students and asking them what their problem was and doing the solution right there,” Hudson said. “I thought, ‘This is how Student Government should be, putting students first.'”Hudson said he approached Borel to run with him because her intelligence struck him. “I knew she cared about campus organizations,” Hudson said. “I approached her, and she shared the exact same passion with me.”Borel said she remembers working on an election campaign last year and the respect candidates received. “I just realized how much I can actually accomplish,” Borel said. “I had solidified everything I wanted to do with student organizations, and I didn’t feel as involved as I could.”Hudson said the ticket has more than 60 candidates, with backgrounds including “Ambassadors to Judo Club.”And the pair has served in all three branches of SG.   Hudson served as University Court chief justice in the judicial branch and in the executive branch this year as SG director of external affairs. Borel is currently serving as Senate parliamentarian.”We have seen the three sides of Student Government and been involved in them,” Hudson said. “Knowing the inner workings of all three in depth, we feel like we’ll be able to not only build each one up but build them up together.””J is extremely experienced in SG, whether it’s executive or governing documents,” Borel said. “I come from outside SG, and that gives us both viewpoints. What makes us perfect is this mixture of backgrounds.”Hudson said his primary concern if elected is protecting the University’s academic core during higher education cuts.”I want my diploma to mean something,” Hudson said. “I want LSU to stay flagship and top-tier.”Borel said some of the pushcard’s strong initiatives deal with listening to students’ voices and focus on improving students’ lives.Some of those initiatives include covered bus stops, a reassessment of the fee bill for legibility, improvements on international student orientation and safer parking for students.”It’s unacceptable when you’re paying for this University, and you don’t know what you’re paying for,” Borel said about the fee bill reassessment. “It’s a shame — you should know where your money is going.”Hudson said he likes how SG President Stuart Watkins and Vice President Martina Scheuermann have been open to their executive staff’s opinions.”Everything we talk about is a roundtable discussion, and that allows for brainstorming,” Hudson said. “When you have 20 outstanding leaders there, you’re going to conjure some great ideas.”Borel said they’d also like to invite students and organizations to the executive meetings and focus on others’ opinions. –Contact Catherine Threlkeld at [email protected]