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USGA presidential candidates differ on approach to issues

Posted on Feb 08, 2010 in News

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Two candidates, Jake Jones and Brad Watts, are running for president of the Undergraduate Student Government Association (USGA) in this year’s election.

Brad Watts, a political science and history major with junior class standing, is currently a senator for the division of general studies and the internship coordinator in the executive cabinet. Watts said he decided to run after beginning his second term as senator.

“I really liked the work I was doing,” he said.

“I was starting to get involved in writing legislation, realizing that my legislation could actually have an effect. I like being able to affect the university and bring about change.”

According to Watts, there is not one main issue affecting all students because “different issues affect students differently.”

He does believe some of the main issues affecting students are parking, on-campus housing and Greek housing. He plans to address all three if elected.

Watts plans to advocate for the expansion of residence halls, look at Greek housing and lowering parking fees, while also looking to add and expand current parking.

“There are times I can’t even find parking, and I’m a resident. It’s not just about adding to what we have, it’s also about expanding. But the first step is lowering fees to students,” said Watts.

Watts also wants to work on forming a student loan program and look at building a student union.

“A student union is basically a building that is owned, operated and run by students. It differs at each university. Oftentimes, it will have stores, meeting spaces, restaurants, theaters — things that cater just to students. It is essentially like the HUC, but there are no administrative offices,” he said.

According to Watts, a student union has been proposed and is on the blueprint for the campus green, but nothing has been done since.

Watts believes he is the best candidate for the job because of his involvement in many organizations.

“In addition to my USGA experience, I have experience with different student groups — Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity, Trailblazers, International Mentors, Orientation Leaders — so I feel like that breadth of experience allows me to connect to a bunch of different students. I understand different perspectives,” said Watts.

Jake Jones, who is also running for president, is a biology major with junior class standing.

Jones said he decided to run because he wants to help create positive changes at UAB.

“I want to see changes that don’t just fulfill my agenda but help the students as a whole,” said Jones.

Jones believes one of the biggest issues affecting students is the cost to attend the university and hopes to address that if elected.

“We all know that tuition is going to continue going up; we’re going to keep getting proration for years to come.

There’s not much that I can do about controlling that. There’s not much that the university can do about controlling that, so I plan to cut costs elsewhere,” said Jones.

“The way that I plan to go about that is to look at extraneous costs students pay other than tuition including dining fees, building fees, etc. to see what I can cut out of that,” Jones added.

If elected, Jones also wants to look at improving campus facilities, namely the Arts and Humanities Building and the Education Building.

“When the facilities can’t keep up with the current classrooms, I see that as a problem to students. They don’t accommodate the size; they don’t accommodate the needs,” said Jones.

“We have $9 million from the installation of the College of Arts and Sciences, so we have that to work with,” Jones added.

Jones believes he is the most qualified candidate because of his leadership abilities and dedication.

“I am a senator. I am a resident advisor in Blount Hall, and I am also an associate member of Alpha Epsilon Delta, the pre-health society,” said Jones.

“I definitely have good leadership abilities, I think that’s my strong suit, and also, I am a hard, hard worker. I think that shows a lot in my classes because I’m not necessarily the smartest student or the best student in class, but I always try to work hard enough to make the grade,” Jones added.

The elections will be held Feb. 23-24. Students can vote at campus-wide polling places or on Blazernet.
 

Email: news@insideuab.com




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