Student Government Association vice president for external affairs candidate Alan Rose said he is prepared for the amount of work the job requires.

“With all the things that are happening in Tuscaloosa, [like the] expansion of the University, [External Affairs is] going to be a place where there’s a lot of work, and it’s going to be interesting,” Rose said. “It’s going to be really exciting to get involved as soon as I can.”

Rose, a sophomore majoring in geology, began his work with the SGA this year as a senator, but he said he knew he wanted to get involved as soon as he stepped on campus.

While on a tour of the University as an upcoming freshman, Rose said his tour guide pointed out the markers on the Ridgecrest buildings that the SGA helped make possible.

“I thought that that was really cool because SGA here has that pull,” he said. “If you do something, if you really want to work hard at something, it can be done, versus the administration just taking care of it.”

As a senator, Rose helped write and pass legislation that encouraged students to register to vote on seven-day alcohol sales in the city of Tuscaloosa.

Being involved in the community is something Rose said he believes all students should do.

“You spend the majority of your time here at the University,” he said. “So the things that come about through local government affect us. You have to be able to vote on something that’s going to affect you.”

Rose said one of the first things he will do when he takes office will be to start blood drives that will create a healthy rivalry with Auburn, since in the past they have beaten the University in blood drives.

Instead of holding blood drives sporadically like in the past, Rose said he would like to have three or four that students would hear about ahead of time.

Rose said he would also like to see Action Cards accepted more places on campus and around the community in larger businesses like Target, Wal-Mart and

Barnes and Noble.

The SGA has made great strides in being transparent this year, Rose said, and he would like to keep it that way so students can feel like they are involved.

“I want to bring people in from all parts of campus, but also I want to make sure it’s people who are really willing to work and make sure the University is taking those bigger steps,” he said.

Rose said he chose to run for vice president of external affairs because of all the great things he sees going on in the city.

“I saw just how much this city has to offer,” he said. “I don’t think ‘on campus’ is just confined to the physical campus; it’s wherever the student goes in the community.”