With SGA elections occurring next Tuesday and Wednesday, are you properly informed on the candidates and their platforms? Her Campus Towson has your back. We contacted all of the tickets on this year’s campaign ballot. We were lucky to hear more about two of the tickets, T-moji and TU Evolution, directly from their candidates.
Speaking directly about who these students are and what they stand for, we hope to objectively provide you collegiettes with the information you need in considering how to vote.
The “T-moji” Ticket
Running under the campaign slogan, “Express Yourself,” representatives from the T-moji ticket say that they refuse to be complacent when it comes to students’ needs.
The presidential candidate on the T-moji ticket is Charlotte Ridgeway, who is current SGA vice-president, a sister in Tri-Delta, and a junior here at Towson. Kevin Kutner is running for vice-president, is a sophomore, an RA in Residence Tower, a member of Theta Chi, an SGA senator, and Poli-Sci/Journalism major. Running for treasurer, is Towson junior Laura Martin, who is an SGA senator, on the Appropriations Committee for the SGA, a Student Ambassador, and an Orientation Team Leader, as well as a drug and alcohol peer counselor. Andrew Key is a sophomore and the candidate for attorney general; he is an RA in Tower C, a brother in Pi Kappa Alpha and the Director of Athletic Affairs for the SGA. Last but not least, Gayon Sampson, running for chief of staff, is a sophomore, an RA in Prettyman, and the Director of Legislative Affairs for the SGA.
I had a chance to sit down with these impressive candidates and discuss their plans for Towson students. T-moji has a platform which they urge is heavily student-based. Samspon explained, “This ticket is about expressing yourself and us facilitating that expression.” They are trying to get more rights for Towson students. Specific plans this ticket has are to repeal the housing laws of Baltimore County and City that limit the amount of people that may live together so that students have better options for off-campus housing. They are also in favor of a university-wide bereavement policy, a guaranteed allotment of absences per course, and are trying to implement a permanent reading day between the last day of classes and the first day of finals for students.
When asked what T-moji can offer to Towson students that is unique from their competitors, Kutner asserted, “If you look at our initiatives, they actually help every student on campus.”
The “TU Evolution” Ticket
Innovation, Progress, and Legacy. These are, as presidential candidate Mike Ukoha says, the core values of the TU Evolution ticket—a ticket “putting students first and government operations second.”
Ukoha is a sports club supervisor, a former SGA senator, and a former SGA treasurer. Vice-presidential candidate Michael Thompkins is a 2nd year senator in SGA, and is active in URG. Running for treasurer, Joe Zerafa is the current treasurer of URG and is an RA in Douglass House. May Amoyaw is the attorney general candidate on this ticket and is a Student Ambassador, social chair of the African Diaspora Club, a sister in Delta Sigma Theta, and is passionate about community service. Finally, running for chief of staff is Sam Hubbard, the Director of Diversity for the SGA, an involved member of the Feminist Collective and In the Life, and is passionate about immigration reform and sexual assault awareness.
These determined candidates urge that the different background of each member on their ticket is a positive force. Ukoha writes, “Being able to appreciate more perspectives when attempting to serve the student body definitely sets us apart from other tickets.” TU Evolution’s plans for the future include implementing parking sensors to indicate if a garage is full so that students can try an alternative garage, and to have more Towson flags and paw prints to increase Towson spirit and pride. In reference to the diversity issues on campus, TU Evolution says, “the only way to truly make progress on diversity on campus is to proactively approach the situation daily.” TU Evolution wants to establish that diversity is a continuing factor of Towson’s legacy.
TU Evolution wants voters to know it is about them, as Ukoha claims, “We don’t want to be remembered for simple initiatives we want to be remembered for how we made you feel as student at Towson University!”