As a lone competitor and self-described “progressive candidate,” Grayson Hawkins of the Hawkins-Kiefer campaign wants to change the way the campus looks at the Student Government Association.
Since Hawkins’ vice presidential running mate Aimee Kiefer is no longer on the ballot, Hawkins is running alone against two larger campaigns comprising SGA veterans. His mission, Hawkins said, is to unite and represent the unaffiliated and independent students of UT under a platform that addresses issues he said many students feel strongly about.
Q: Why did you decide to run for election?
GH: My entire freshman year I just complained — which is just bringing up an issue without proposing a solution — and earlier this year, it just clicked in my head, and I saw the SGA as the biggest platform to both get my message across and be taken seriously. I see other SGAs across the nation that have more student involvement, that have more of a voice, more of a sway, then I look at UT’s SGA, and it seems like a group of popular people, like a members-only club. I researched it and realized that it really is more geared toward students in student organizations and Greek life. If you’re in the current SGA, it’s much easier to get elected, to run for leadership positions.
Q: Which issues matter the most to you and why?
GH: The most relevant right now would be sexual assault, campus beautification and the student body at least telling the administration that Aramark is not cutting it. Those three issues are my focus. For sexual assault, in my platform, I outline just a couple of steps followed by a contingency plan. Step one would be to lobby the administration and pass legislation, get the students involved in this, tell the administration they’re not doing enough. I want to propose that officers for different organizations tap into those funds, I would like to require them all to go through a peer responder education program. Because if the student body doesn’t get involved, I don’t think anything will ever be done.
Beautification could start with creating more green space and repairing sidewalks. Where they are repaired, it looks like a patchwork. There could be more done. I skate the sidewalks, I see the cracks and the grunge, and campus in general has no aesthetic appeal.
For Aramark, I simply want to voice student opinion, because student opinion is: Aramark has bad food quality. I’ll take you to PCB any day and show you. I’m not sure if Aramark is the best solution, it’s just the easiest. There are many more issues that I cover, and they are all outlined at hk4utk.com.
Q: Tell me about how you have gone about campaigning and amassing support among our student body.
GH: I’ve been running a Facebook campaign and doing speaking engagements, but one of the flaws in SGA is that our campaigning, our focus is not allowed to focus on the general student body until one day before elections. I cannot go out on Pedestrian Walkway right now and explain my message, explain that I’m an independent candidate trying to fight against a beast of a 36-person campaign. I can’t explain how much effort I’ve been putting in since December and give them my URL, I can’t hand them flyers, I can’t do anything. It’s against the rules until the day before elections. At the same time, campaigns could begin speaking engagements with Greek and other student organizations three weeks before that date. Ninety-five percent of the time spent campaigning, not the preparation time before the campaign, which is why I had such an active Facebook campaign, is only allowed to be catered to Greek and other student organizations. I think that’s wrong.
Q: Why do you think you are the best person for the job? How do you differ from your competitors?
GH: There’s an obvious lack of preparation or effort, and they haven’t brought much to the table. They didn’t bring anything to the table until three days ago.
I performed much of the research, I developed the platform. My obvious dissatisfaction with the way things are now, and my drive and dedication to do as much as I can, not just for what’s right in my eyes, but what’s right in the eyes of the student body as a whole (make me qualified). My platform comes with more preparation, all of my major sections are sourced with recent relevant news articles and academic studies. I think it’s much more obvious that I’m passionate about these things, that I’m not going to accept complacency in the administration or, if I’m elected, in SGA.
So if it’s not for preparation, and passion, and drive, what else would qualify me for the position of student government president?
