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tuscaloosanews.com
February 18, 2006
Five
in the fray
Feb.
17 | With the deadline expired five candidates have thrown their names
into the political ring for the job of SGA president.
Ryan
Hickmans, special projects editor
Following Wednesday’s deadline to file statements of candidacy to the
Dean of Students and the ensuing confirmation process, five candidates
will be in the mix for this year’s SGA presidential election.
In the first week of February when initial applications for candidacy were
due four UA students -– Michael Ingram, Adam Rankin, Justice Smyth and
Robert Steiner – entered the presidential race.
In the past two weeks Ingram has withdrawn his name from consideration,
reportedly in discouragement over the number of candidates, while Shannon
Barge and Corbin Martin have come into the fray.
Rankin is a junior in business and current SGA senator for the Culverhouse
College of Commerce and Business Administration who ran against Smyth last
year for vice president of student affairs. Smyth, a junior in journalism
and winner of last year’s race with Rankin, will try to elevate himself
from VP of student affairs to SGA president.
“I enjoyed working with and helping people and seeing the results,”
Smyth said about his start in student politics as a freshman at the
committee level. “The office of the SGA president is where the most good
can be done for more students.”
Smyth is a former SGA senator for the College of Communication and
Information Sciences and a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon. As the only
presidential candidate with Greek affiliations Smyth has automatically
brought talk of association with The Machine.
A transfer from Millsaps College, Steiner has spent no time in the SGA but
the junior in psychology, history and political science has credentials as
a tutor for the Tuscaloosa County Board of Education and mentor with the
Big Brothers/Big Sisters of West Alabama.
The pair of newcomers, Martin and Barge, are devoid of political
participation at UA. Barge cites his membership in campus organization
Fearless Achievers Mastering Excellence (FAME) as his civic experience.
Martin previously headed up the now defunct Student Veterans Association
on campus following his tour of duty in Iraq with the 1st Battalion, 2nd
Division of the Marine Corps and enrollment at the Capstone.
“I’ve had it in my mind for a while to take a run at the SGA
presidency,” Martin explained. “I want to make big changes on
campus.”
Election platforms cannot be disclosed by the candidates until Feb. 26
when campaigning officially begins.
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