Name: Emily McGuinness
Age: 20
Home Town: Palm Harbor, FL
Major: Accounting
Relationship Status: In a Relationship
Her Campus (HC): So, you’re the student body Treasurer Candidate for the Vitality Party. How does one become a candidate for the Vitality Party?
Emily McGuinness (EM): I am very humbled to be the Student Body Treasurer Candidate. The opportunity to serve the Seminole community is an amazing one. To become a candidate, an interested student simply needs to visit thevitalityparty.com, click “apply now” during the time applications are being accepted, and then attend an interview with the slating committee.
HC: What created your desire to be the Treasurer Candidate for the Vitality Party?
EM: I believe that before being able to get involved, one must be informed. I looked into Vitality and discovered that one of their goals was to renew involvement from students on campus. Vitality really wants to hear the students on this campus, so that we can represent their interests after we have a clear idea of what they want from us as leaders.
HC: For those of us who don’t know much about the election and its dynamics, can you tell us how it works? How and when can the student body vote?What upcoming events is the Vitality Party hosting and what efforts have they already made to increase votes from the student body?
EM: Vitality has been working very hard on reaching out to a variety of student organizations to share with them our goals and our mission, which is for all students to have a voice in SGA. You can find our members out at the Integration Statue throughout the week gauging the students’ concerns as well as at Market Wednesdays. You can also keep track of all of our events by liking us on Facebook!
HC: Isn’t the Vitality Party new to FSU’s campus?
EM: Yes, Vitality is a new party and we strive to connect the students on campus with the students in SGA. We want their voices to coincide with ours. We want the voice of the student body to determine the direction of student government, not vice versa.
HC: What makes the Vitality Party unique?
EM: We are a year-round political party; we will always be here listening to the students’ concerns. We don’t want to be here only during election season. We represent the students, and we don’t want to be just another party that simply solicits the students’ votes during election time. We want to bring a breath of new life to Student Government. The first step is Vitalizing the students’ voice. Their voices do matter and I believe we will represent them to our fullest ability.
HC: Can you tell us some of Vitality’s platform points?
EM: The Vitality Party creates its platform off of the student opinion. Our slogan is “Vitalize Your Voice,” which means to give life back to your voice, and for the student body to know that their opinions matter. We are here to listen and represent them in our roles. We will give you a sneak peak to our platform, which will be released in the next couple of weeks! We have a heavy focus on academics, especially with critical thinking and helping students select classes with more ease, and increasing awareness and support for student issues such as sexual violence awareness. We will also be seeking some new ways to tackle awareness issues of what student government is doing and what the funding can do for students. Stay tuned for our platform, which I know is going to be outstanding! If you have ideas for the platform, submit them here!
HC: I imagine that you really want your party to win. Is it nerve-wracking to not know if all your work and campaigning will pay off?
EM: Yes, it’s definitely nerve-wracking, but in the end everything we are doing is about vitalizing the student body. Throughout our short time on campus I’ve already seen so much more interest in Student Government and people are finally getting excited about the opportunities it presents. Whichever way the election turns out, I don’t see it as not paying off. I’ve become so close with everyone involved in Vitality through this and I wouldn’t change that for anything. I’m excited for what the future has to hold for us!