Amidst the heat of a riveting Student Government Association election week, what better way to get to know your candidates than the Southern University Residential Life and Housing departments’ meet-the-candidates “Campaign Night”. On Thursday March 20, students, campaign members, and their dedicated teams gathered in the Shade-Totty-Boley-Jones circle as well as the Intramural Sports Complex lawn for festivities and further candidate questioning.
The event ran from 4-7 pm as many candidates used the event as a platform for their campaigns to not only explain their stance and ideas but to market themselves to the student body as well. There were many food trucks and activities provided including crawfish, funnel cakes, Louisiana Lemonade truck, Maverick’s ice, Blue Store, tacos, cupcakes, and much more.
When asked how this campaign season differed from other campaign seasons in the past, sophomore business management major Enebeli Kanonu provided her opinion, claiming “I think this is one is different because whether or not you were late, you were able to see the different posters and campaigns throughout the school. Since February, Southern has been down and this week is bringing the school’s spirit back up.” In addition to lifting spirits and filling bellies, many students also used the event to help them come to a decision on who they were voting for and helped them to “hop off the fence”. Freshman Jahzaria Gipson, major Political Science, stated in particular, “The interaction with the student body has been very eye-opening.”
This event, hosted by ResLife, is instrumental for candidates to highlight the groundwork around their campaigns as well as answer any personal questions harbored by the greater student body. Having had the chance to socialize with candidates knowledgable about campus-related politics, students were able to make better educated decisions regarding their votes for SGA positions.