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McCullum did not submit a message for students to The Reflector.
Juan McCullum is not pushing for a radically different Student Association. The current SA vice president said he wants “micro-level” changes, namely extending the window of time in which a student can drop a class.
“We’re one of three schools in the SEC that has a policy which gives you only two weeks to drop a class,” McCullum said. “I want to extend that policy from two weeks to four or five weeks.”
When McCullum ran for SA vice president last year, the drop policy was a central part of his platform.
“It wasn’t accomplished this year because the (SA) president is the main policy person. All I can do is get a piece of legislation through the Senate,” McCullum said.
McCullum, whose current job entails leading the SA Senate, said legislation passed this year for both an academic forgiveness policy and a change to the add/drop policy.
However, McCullum said the SA pushed the academic forgiveness policy to the university administration because it would not have been feasible to advocate both policies at the same time.
The Faculty Senate passed the academic forgiveness policy during their Jan. 16 meeting. The policy is now being reviewed by the university administrators.
Maintaining relationships with campus and city leaders is a critical trait for a president, McCullum said.
“I’ve already built a relationship with (President) Dr. Lee, (Provost) Dr. Rabideau, (interim Vice President of Student Affairs) Dr. Abraham,” he said. “The relationship has already been started with the administration.”
McCullum said his long experience with the SA makes him the most qualified candidate for president.
“You’ve got to look at qualifications overall. You look at the two terms in the senate,” McCullum said, “Then, the student body vice president-that pretty much leaves you with the president.”