Four years ago, Truth presidential candidate Tony White was more likely to become a Hurricane than a UT student.
The Memphis native limited his collegiate choices to Miami, Florida State and UT, with the Seminoles taking the lead, but after a trip to Tallahassee, all that changed.
“I had my heart and my mind set on Florida State,” White said. “When I went to orientation at Florida State, it was like a completely different experience from when I visited (the first time). I guess I wasn’t feeling it.”
The senior, double majoring in finance and world business, finally decided on UT after trying its orientation. After arriving on campus, White has dipped his hand into several campus organizations.
He is currently the president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, was a member of the Student Traffic Appeals Board and an active member of Minority Enhancement for UT. White said his experience with Me4UT had clearly been his favorite.
Working with the group has been worth the effort after seeing this year’s freshman class jump from a 6.7 percent minority enrollment to 9 percent, White said.
“When I saw those numbers we were like, ‘Man, we really are making a difference, we really are serving a purpose,” he said.
White said it is making a difference that has pushed him to run for SGA president. At the same orientation that drew White to UT, former SGA President Will Carver motivated him to join SGA.
“He was just a great, energetic public speaker,” White said. “After that speech, I was like, ‘I’m going to run for president before I leave this campus.’
“It just worked out this year I had the chance.”
Since that speech, White has found other reasons for running. He said improving on the university’s atmosphere was one of his goals.
“I definitely think the atmosphere the community feels is a strength,” he said. “Especially when I went to my first football game … When I saw all those orange shirts I was like, ‘These people have it.'”
White said he has noticed several problems with the university. Part of his party’s platform is to hold the administration responsible for all of its spending.
“We have a lot of red tape and a lot of bureaucracy at UT,” White said. “Unless you are in the know with how the system works, you will be victim to a lot of those circumstances. A lot of people complain about this and that but don’t know how to deal with anything.”
After participating in SGA three of the four years at UT, White said he hoped to keep the students “in the know” so both administration and the student body can benefit.
“I am somebody who is very approachable,” he said. “That’s something we need to get back in (SGA).”
White’s running mate is M.G. Bailey, someone the Reese Hall resident assistant met as a freshman.
“He’s a very involved individual,” White said. “He’s tried to involve himself in everything he can outside the (SGA), and I represent that.”
With the backgrounds of the two, White said he and Bailey should have the most diversity of any of the parties running, something that will benefit students if they are elected.
“You have to go out and get in the trenches to get people to grasp the entirety of SGA,” he said. “We are a good combination to relate to students and do that.”
