Student Government Association presidential hopefuls had one last
chance Tuesday night to make their campaign pitches before this
weekend’s election.
Fewer than 50 students were in the Bovee University Center
Auditorium to hear them.
Willis graduate student Lonnie Scott and Sterling Heights junior
Michael Zeig said they would tackle smaller issues before bigger ones.
“We don’t want to offer empty promises,” Scott said. “Our goal is to
not stumble upon little things as we are tackling large ones. SGA at
the moment is full of empty promises and we want to get away from that.”
Harbor Beach senior Dan Nowiski and Lansing junior Tiffany Jones
have two completely different issues in mind.
Nowiski and Jones said their main focus is lowering the price of
textbooks for students at Central Michigan University.
If elected they said they plan to set up a Web site through Ferris
State University where students can enter ISBN numbers and compare
prices of textbooks online.
“We think we could get this site up and running by the fall,”
Nowiski said. “I feel we should give students the option to be able to
search for lower prices if we can’t offer it to them.”
Scott and Zeig said they will focus on campus safety issues and aid
in long-term academic planning.
They plan to work with Facilities Management to get sidewalks clear
so students can make it to class safely in the winter and said they
will give students a two-to-three-year projection of when major classes
are offered.
Dan Nowiski
Harbor Beach senior, for president
Tiffany Jones
Lansing junior, for vice president
Why they feel qualified:
Nowiski has been involved with SGA for three years and
currently is vice president.
Jones currently is president of the Non Violence Coalition, a
Leadership Advancement Scholar and has been involved with many student
organizations, despite never serving in SGA.
Their plans if elected:
Increasing four-year graduation rates, lowering textbook
prices, creating campus unity, increasing the number and availability
of campus jobs, increasing wages, encouraging student involvement
and giving Program Board and other registered student organizations the
responsibility of creating campus activities.
A projection of classes will allow students to better plan so they
are not stuck with having one class to complete before graduation, they
said.
“I feel we have two very realistic goals to tackle if we are
elected,” Zeig said. “Students will see immediate results with these
issues because we are not messing with a lot of money.”
One thing both tickets agreed on was getting more students involved
in SGA.
Jones said outside students should show more involvement. She said,
if elected, she would increase campus unity.
She said she wants students to realize how they can get involved in
SGA and what the organization is all about.
Lonnie Scott
Willis graduate student, for president
Michael Zeig
Sterling Heights junior, for vice president
Why they feel qualified:
Scott has had leadership positions in several groups on
campus including Leadership Safari, On The Fly Productions, Residence
Hall Assembly and MAINStage. He also is currently serving as the SGA
Senate Leader.
Zeig is a current member of SGA, an Honors freshman
facilitator and student employee at the CMU Bookstore.
Their plans if elected:
Improving campus safety, working within academic departments,
alleviating the problem of students not finishing their majors on time,
changing students’ views of SGA and how it is operated and developing a
better partnership with Central Michigan Life and other media outlets.
“I feel I can engage other students to be involved because I was an
outsider from SGA at one point,” Jones said. “I want to specifically
address the experience students have with SGA and get the general
student body involved.”
If elected, Scott said he would be more visible to students.
He said the job of SGA president is to be the voice of the students
to the administration.
“I would stand my ground with the administration and not back down,”
Scott said. “We need to get away from everything being internal and
work for what the students believe.”
Goodrich senior Emily Doerr said she will be backing Nowiski and
Jones.
She said Jones brings a completely different facet to SGA because
she is female.
“I think both tickets are good candidates, but I feel Scott and Zeig
are from the same circle and we need people who bring different
experiences like Jones and Nowiski,” Doerr said.
Voting for the SGA election begins at 12 a.m. Saturday and ends at 5
p.m. April 1.
Students will be able to vote for president, vice president,
treasurer and senators at www.vote.cmich.edu.
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