Good morning, editor.
I hope this letter finds you well. My name is Maggie Brown, and I am thrilled to announce my candidacy for SGA President with Carey Griffin as Vice President.
I am a junior double-majoring in International Studies and Art History. I am a member of the Kugelman Honors Program and currently serve as the Fundraising Chair in the Honors Council. Last year, I served as the SGA Secretary of the Senate and am now the SGA Treasurer. I am running for office because I have seen the impact that student government has on both a university level, like hosting Argo Rallies to boost school spirit, and on a state level, lobbying for students’ rights in Tallahassee and advocating against SB 266, which prohibited state colleges from spending funds on DEI initiatives. I want to continue being a voice for students at UWF and on the state level.
Carey Griffin is a senior majoring in Political Science/Pre-Law. He is a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and has held multiple executive-level positions, like Warden, Philanthropy Chair and Social Chair. He has previously served as a Resident Assistant at Heritage Hall and hopes to enter into city politics in his hometown of Marianna after graduating. He is extremely excited to be running for SGA Vice President, and this position can put him in a leadership role where he can help students during their stay at UWF. He hopes to serve UWF as much and even more than it has served him because it has molded him into the confident leader he is today.
Carey and I are running under the campaign “C.A.R.E.,” which stands for Community, Accessibility, Relevance and Engagement. Our campaign slogan is “We C.A.R.E. About Your Stay At UWF.” Our initiatives are explained in more detail below.
Community:
With community, we recognize that there are many diverse communities on campus and we want to work towards uniting them all under “One Community, One Argo.” To accomplish this, we would create a spring version of Argo Arrival to welcome our non-traditional students and our returning students. We’d also work closer with Commuter Student services to increase the Commuter Hub’s visibility and create commuter-student-specific events. Lastly, we would like to create more Argo Rallies, partnering with Athletics and FSL to boost school spirit.
Accessibility:
With Accessibility, we want to expand access to current resources on campus. Firstly, we want to work with the UWF Trolley and Parking Services to increase advertising of ECAT bus tickets and the trolley stop at University Parkway and Hillview so that students living at the apartments outside of campus don’t have to walk or drive to campus (like student-athletes and international students.) We would also like to increase the visibility of our online mental health resources provided by CAPS to our commuter students and online students. Lastly, we want to spread awareness of current and upcoming environmental initiatives on campus, like the Community Garden, the Green Fee and the new UWF Environmental Conservation Plan.
Relevance:
With Relevance, we want to educate our students and the student organizations about what SGA is, how we function and how we can help and support you. To do this, we will create events to educate the students about what SGA is and how it can support them. Additionally, we want to meet 1:1 with the student organization’s officers on campus to provide tailored support for them. Lastly, we just want to increase the overall visibility and accessibility of SGA and its members so that the students know they can come to us with any concerns they have.
Engagement:
With Engagement, we would love to create better student events and initiatives and interact more with local and state politics. Creating student-centered surveys would allow us to host and fund tailored events and programs to enhance student life so we know the overall views of UWF students. We would also love to partner with local government entities, like the Pensacola City Council so that SGA can be a more external organization. Lastly, we would like to partner more with the other student governments in the state and continue to lobby for UWF student rights and Florida student rights on a state level.
Students can follow us on Instagram at @browngriffin2024. Voting opens March 4th and closes March 6th. You can vote online via a Qualtrics form that will be linked in our bio or in person right outside of the Nautilus Market.
Thank you for your time and consideration!
Sincerely,
Maggie Brown and Carey Griffin