Q: To start off, how has the election process been for you so far as a presidential candidate for SGA?
Freeman: Seeing as though it’s not only my first time running for president, but also my first time running in general, I would say it’s been a pretty cool experience. I’ve enjoyed actually going out, talking to people and getting people to vote for me. Not only showing them what I’ve been running on, but also asking what their current concerns are, because I know even though I may run on certain things, there are also other areas that people may want me to focus on. So just getting a general idea of what the public is thinking about—it’s been pretty good. I’ve enjoyed it.
Q: If you were to be elected, what is the first thing that you plan to do in the first 30 days, and how will students see that change through your work?
Freeman: First things first, I want to make sure that not only I’m getting the ball rolling for what I would focus on, which is the parking accountability dashboard, but also making sure that SGA is better trained and prepared for the roles they’re going into. I feel like even in my time coming into SGA, we didn’t have proper training, so we were like, “What are we supposed to do?” I don’t want that to ever happen again, so making sure that we’re properly prepared to represent the people we’re supposed to be communicating to the university on behalf of.
They’ll notice that SGA is a lot more organized from the standpoint that we understand how our jobs are supposed to function and we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing. But also making sure that we’re more accessible. I want to make sure that we’re constantly out there, people know our names, what we do and things like that, so they feel like we do have people who are representing us on behalf of the university.
Q: As a general question on the topic of administration, do you feel like their communication with SGA has been transparent? If so, or if not, why?
Freeman: I would say to a degree, yes. They do give us a lot of information about what’s going on in the university. I just feel as though there could be improvements, as with any situation.
In areas they’ve been doing pretty well, we actually knew in advance that they were remodeling the Student Center. Getting that information before everyone else is something they’ve done a good job of, which is making sure they inform us about future projects and everything.
We do have to do a better job of communicating that back to the student body, because I feel like they’re also left in the dark because we don’t communicate that information properly or efficiently. But when we do get that information, they’ve done a good job of letting us know certain details. Of course, there are some things they can’t let us know, but other things they’ve done a good job with.
Q: When it comes to students, there’s often talk that SGA may not “do much.” What’s one concrete way you plan to prove them wrong within your term if elected?
Freeman: One of the things I would focus on is making sure that people see what we’re doing. I feel like a lot of what people perceive as SGA not being as efficient is the fact that we’re not conveying what we’re doing properly. They don’t see the progress being made, the steps we’re taking or when things are accomplished.
If we’re not properly broadcasting that to people, then that perception continues. So I feel like the biggest thing is making sure that we’re communicating to students—showing how far along we are in our process and how close we are.
For instance, we could have a progress tracker. I want to make sure that SGA consistently posts and has general information about how far along we are on particular ticket items. For example, if the parking accountability dashboard is 25% of the way done three months into the term, students can see that progress.
Also, making sure that if we do finish a ticket item, we’re properly broadcasting that. For instance, the current administration finally got the 24/7 study spaces opened up on both Kennesaw and Marietta. However, a lot of people did not know that happened, because I think the most we did was post it on our story maybe once and put up posters. Most of the time, people glance at those and move on. So going directly to people and letting them know is important. In general, just making sure people know what we’re doing.
Q: What makes you a defining candidate compared to SGA President Alyssa George? What would you do differently throughout your administration?
Freeman: The biggest thing that sets us apart is making sure that I go out to people. I feel like oftentimes, and this has been the case for SGA in general, we kind of sit back and wait for students to come to us. I feel like we could do a lot better going to students themselves—not just on social media, but actually in person.
A lot of that relationship between students and student government is lost because we don’t go talk to them and build that connection. Students may not know what SGA is, or if they do, they don’t know what we do. And if they know both, they may not feel like they can come to us because we seem closed off or like some exclusive club, which we’re not. We’re supposed to be there for everyone.
So I would make sure that we, as SGA, and myself as president, are going out into the field more and building that communication with the student body, because that’s the biggest part of student government, having a connection with students.
Q: You pointed out some accomplishments of SGA this year. What do you think were some shortcomings, and how would you remedy them going into the next academic year?
Freeman: Honestly, I would say the biggest shortcomings are internal. A lot of it has been related to proper communication between people. There’s been a lot of miscommunication within SGA, which has led to conflict internally and stifled our progress in accomplishing what we’re meant to do.
There could also be more team bonding. There wasn’t a lot of that this year. Some people didn’t even know each other’s names or positions, which is crazy. So I feel like that’s a big issue—a lack of communication, accountability and camaraderie.
There needs to be a better culture of communication, accountability and teamwork. Something I would do is make sure we have proper training and a streamlined communication process within SGA. I’ve also heard from several members that they would like to see more team bonding events.
So, making sure we stay cohesive by spending time together outside of just working, things like game nights, so we can actually function better as a team.
Q: As a last question, since today is the last day of voting, why should a student who hasn’t been paying attention vote for you right now compared to your opponent?
Freeman: I understand not paying attention to the process. Students are busy. I’ve experienced that myself when talking to people who didn’t know what SGA is.
But with only a few hours left, the reason you should vote for me is because I want to make sure, we’re more accessible to the student body and that we’re conveying real solutions or mitigations to issues that are most prevalent in the university.
Parking is a big issue; I want to make sure it’s more predictable, so students have an easier time parking, and that there’s more transparency between students and faculty about parking.
Affordability is another major issue, especially housing. There are students who have had to skip classes just to work and pay rent. I want to make sure no student has to go through that.
Lastly, better communication and transparency between the university and students. SGA has to step up and play a bigger role in that.
I want to make sure we’re addressing the biggest issues students face and that KSU continues to be a home away from home, but also a first choice for incoming students, not just a fallback option. I’ve grown up around this university. I’ve seen it go from people saying they didn’t want to go here to now having packed stands at games. I want to make sure it continues to grow and that students actually want to be here throughout their entire college career.
