Today, the unopposed candidates for Vice President for External Affairs and Vice President for Financial Affairs will discuss their campaign platforms for 
SGA elections.

The Vice President for External Affairs is the connection between our campus and the communities we live in: Tuscaloosa, the state of Alabama and the nation. The role carries the responsibility of representing us to the outside world and developing structures for how we interact with communities outside of campus. Jonathan Hess’s ideas and plans for the future push us as a community to reach out to the great city of Tuscaloosa in mutually beneficial ways. Never forget that our campus is not an island unto itself, but part of a larger community that we engage in daily.

While External Affairs focuses on the eponymous side of the SGA and campus, Financial Affairs focuses on maintaining the finances of the SGA, and serves as chairman or chairwoman of the Financial Affairs Committee. Without a clear and accurate recording of finances, SGA would not be able to operate effectively and efficiently. In addition, the Financial Affairs Committee is the main vehicle through which student organizations receive funding for their projects, supplies, equipment and travel. The Wu-Tang Clan once rapped, “cash rules everything around me.” In the case of the SGA, prudent financial management and proper distribution of cash will rule how they operate and how much they achieve next year.

I encourage you to read Mr. Hess’s and Mr. Leake’s platforms and understand their positions for we all need – and deserve – to know how we are represented to external communities and the internal operations of SGA’s finances. Remember: Only five days remain until Election Day and an engaged, informed student body is the best way we can influence SGA.

Patrick Crowley is the Opinions Editor of The Crimson White. He is a senior majoring in mathematics, finance and economics.