PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES:

Rhett Hobart
Hometown:Greenville, Miss.
 
Major:Communication — Public relations
 
 
Main goal if elected:
Change the MSU Announcements
“I feel like everyone gets so many MSU Announcements that no one reads them anymore and the information is important. If we could find a way to implement an interactive calendar people could rely on, then they could opt-in to get information about things they want and opt-out of getting things they don’t.”
 
 
Biggest student need at MSU:
Decreased textbook prices
“SA has done things in the past to help decrease textbook prices, but there are still ways we can improve textbook prices for students. A lot of schools have started a textbook exchange online to help students sell and buy books for less.”
 
Reasons for running for SA President:
“Since I was a little kid, I have great memories of coming to the games with my parents and I was raised a bulldog and have a passion for MSU. Being student body president is a way to give back to MSU for all it has given me over the last few years.”
 
Most excited about if elected:
“I’m excited about representing the entire student body. We have to represent every group on campus and I want to help improve every students’ experience and move SA forward.”
 
Previous SA involvement:
            Freshman council
            Executive Assistant
            Vice President
 
Involvement on campus:
Campus Crusades
Sigma Chi Fraternity
Order of Omega
 

Brad Hollinger
Hometown: Nashville, Tenn.
 
Major:Risk Management, Insurance and Financial Planning
 
Main goal if elected:
Improve the priority for students during class registration
“I think there are a lot of juniors and seniors who aren’t getting into the classes they need on time, and I think it is a flaw in the registration process. I think honors students should be able to sign up first, but there is some overlap where honors sophomores get to sign up before non honors juniors, and I think the system needs to be tweaked to give everyone the correct priority during registration.”
 
Biggest student need at MSU:
A Student Association that is approachable.
“All the candidates have great idea and those ideas are represented by students and what they want, but those aren’t all the ideas and student need an organization that is approachable to be able to give suggestions of how to make their experience better while at MSU.”
 
Reasons for running for SA President:
“This is something I have been thinking about for about a year and half now. After working closely with Thomas Sellers when planning Bulldog Bash, I developed a passion for being president.”
 
 
Most excited about if elected:
“I am most excited about representing 19,644 students and helping to make their experience better while at MSU.”
 
 
Previous SA involvement:
Freshman Forum
Athletic Affairs
SA Cabinet: Co-Director of External Events
 
Involvement on campus:
Orientation Leader 2010
Kappa Sigma Fraternity
Gamma Iota Sigma
RUF
Intramurals
Vice President lllllll
Halston Hales
Classification:Senior
Major:Industrial and Systems Engineering
Hometown:Clinton, Miss.
Platform: Halston will explore the possibility of an online, consolidated  research listing at MSU.  Intended to improve availability of research opportunities, his proposal would include integrated search functions for easily browsing for or on research projects.  Transparency from the SA and collaboration with university officials are priorities for Halston, who hopes to address the concerns held by the student body through open forums and panel discussions. Also, he would concern himself with sustainability efforts across campus and work to improve the effectiveness of existing programs.
Courtney Harris
Classification:Sophomore  Major:Communication
Hometown:Louisville, Ky.
Platform: Her proposed “Before Bulldog” program integrates the Difference of One website with incoming students’ orientation. The goal is to help students find a club or activity they are interested in before even setting foot on campus for classes. This semester, she passed legislation through SA Senate gaining their support for a Veteran Affairs Cabinet position.  She believes veterans, servicemen, dependents and survivors are an important portion of the MSU population that deserve representation. Student Association Outreach is also part of her platform because she feels that students and the SA should interact regularly in order to maintain their purpose of service.
Hudson Frey
Classification:Sophomore  Major:Biological Sciences
Hometown:Hollandale, Miss.
Platform: Hudsonis running because he wants to be the students’ voice in their Student Association. A few of the goals he would like to accomplish are improving the green initiative on campus, establishing an SA organized bus trip to one SEC football game a year and increasing the involvement between the SA senate and cabinet. He also hopes to improve the accessibility of the students to the Student Association with a calendar of events and a suggestions link via onCampus.
 
Secretary lllllllll
Olivia King
Classification:Sophomore
Major:Communication
Hometown:Raymond, Miss.
Platform: One point of her platform is a Senate suggestion box that would be placed in the Union. This box would provide an easy way for students to drop a question or comment to relay their thoughts and ideas to their elected senator. Another thing she wants to do is promote more campus involvement and would do so by creating a better MSU calendar system that would increase awareness about MSU functions, therefore increasing attendance at these functions as well. She would appreciate all student support as these ideas will benefit us all. Hail State!
 
Meredith Sledge
 
Classification:Junior
Major:Interior Design
Hometown:Sunflower, Miss.
Platform: As a freshman, she served on the History and Traditions Committee and Freshman Forum. As a sophomore, she was selected to serve on cabinet as Director of Freshman Forum. This year, she is serving as co-director of External Events. If elected, she wants to build the role of Secretary and use it to its full potential. She would like to hold an annual fund raiser for the MSU Student Relief Fund. To hear the student voice, she would like to have a Speak to your Senator Day implemented and held each semester. To learn more about her platform, please visit sledge4secretary.com.
 
Treasurer lll
Mary Kimble Bridgers
Classification:Senior
Major:Accounting
Hometown:Belzoni, Miss.
Platform: Bridgers wants to encourage professors to post syllabi online for all students to view. The ability to view current or
previous syllabi before registration will enable students to enhance their academic experience
by selecting courses with content and structure applicable to their preferences and interests. She also wants to work with Cabinet and Senate to enable them to use their budgets most effectively. She hopes to create a financial report of the Student Association’s expenditures to be included in each addition of the SA monthly newsletter.
 
Attorney General
Justin Watts
Classification:Sophomore
Major:Biochemistry
Hometown:Hernando, Miss.
Platform:His previous involvement in the Student Association as assistant director of Academic Affairs has given him valuable insight into the student body’s role in the university and has allowed him to realize how welcoming MSU truly is. As Attorney General, Justin plans on upholding the integrity of the constitution, working toward an improved class registration process, and unifying students’ personal Google Calendars with many of the university’s calendars to ultimately update the connectivity and functionality of the university. Even though updates will be made, he will always strive to preserve the welcoming reputation MSU is known for.
 
 
 

Editor’s Note: All responses from presidential candidates were uniformly gathered from each of the candidates on Friday. All others were submitted from each of the candidates.