SGA campaigns will be dedicated to engaging with the student body on Ped Walkway and all across campus, encouraging students to vote in the 2019 SGA elections until Wednesday.
As one of the three campaigns running, Thrive has a full schedule planned to interact with students and spread their message of what Thrive stands for.
Justin Cross, student services director candidate, was excited for the turnout and hoped it would continue over the next two days.
“We’ve actually had a really great turnout in general here on Ped Walkway,” Cross said. “People have been excited and eager to get to know about SGA elections and we’ve been communiticating how important it is to vote and obviously communicating about our specific mission.”
“So, I’ve had the chance to share our mission at Thrive with so many students across campus and I think it’s something students are really buying into and something they can really believe and agree with.”
Setting up as early as 5 a.m. on Monday, members of the Thrive campaign grilled hotdogs from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., as well as handed out other foods like fruit and chips along with flyers to those walking between classes.
Chad Smith, presidential candidate of Thrive, explained that Thrive’s strategy for campaigning was just having members be genuine.
“I think for us, it’s just being kind of everywhere, but also being us while we’re there,” Smith said. “That’s really all we’re about, through and through, is just being the most genuine we can absolutely be. That’s been our strategy throughout and I’m hoping that’s going to show throughout, all the way to Wednesday.”
Monday evening, Thrive hosted a game night in the Presidential Courtyard where students could come to play games and get to know the senators running for seats in a casual setting.
On Tuesday, Thrive will table on Ped Walkway hosting a destress for success event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. where they will have dogs and bubbles, coloring books, face masks and kites. Then, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thrive will be outside the library with their Pups and Policy event. To end the evening, campaign memebers will be painting the Rock until 11 p.m.
Before election results are announced on Wednesday, the campaign will table again from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a Thrive hive photo booth and free food.
Mariam Husiam, junior majoring in sociology and Arts and Sciences senator seat candidate, said that her approach for campaigning was pointing out her favorite policy points, like providing free menstrual hygiene products across campus, bee certification of native pollinating flowers on campus and pushing for transparency in SGA.
“That’s one thing that we’re really pushing for is transparency, inclusivity, diversity and inclusion, and the fact that our campaign has a lot of people who haven’t been involved with SGA before,” Husiam said. “The thing about that is it expands what used to be just small circles of SGA like same friend groups and stuff, we’re changing that to be more inclusive of groups on campus.”
Kenzie Bastian, vice president candidate, spent the day not interacting with students on Ped Walkway, but on the Agriculture campus as well, which she felt gets lost through SGA campaign season as everyone attacks Ped Walkway first.
“It was unique just to see the reaction of students that are usually not being approached to before or like asked to be a part of that conversation,” Bastian said. “We just want to make sure all students are being valued through this and it’s not just people that walk through Ped Walkway, that there are other students that are in different areas of campus that never get hit or never hear about this.”
Bastian encouraged every student to become educated on all three campaigns and to vote.
“I think it matters just to be educated on the vote that you’re making,” Bastian said. “So, really show up, look at our social medias–all three campaigns, look at them–and we just genuinely want to pursue people.”
Read more about Thrive here.
