Presidential candidate Corey Benbow and running mate Tucker Thompson are ready to hear the community and accurately represent the student body through their campaign’s main points: equitability, safety and transparency.
Thompson, a political science senior, said students have told him that they don’t see themselves represented in Student Government. In an effort towards equitability, Benbow, an applied studies senior, said it is not necessarily about equality, but understanding that everyone comes from different places and has different needs.
“If a doctor gives aspirin to a person in labor, someone with a headache and someone with a gunshot wound, that is equal treatment, but each person is not given individual attention to help them improve,” Benbow said “How can we best keep people of color in the process, not just to say they are there, but to allow them to have a voice in how their needs can be met.”
Thompson said students of color are rarely taught by professors of color. Some efforts to rectify the lack of representation on campus include increasing the campus immigration attorney from working part-time to full time.
The candidates also hope to work on a more accessible website for veterans, as not to discourage non-traditional students from applying.
If elected, Benbow said he would be easily approachable and transparent for students.
“I don’t have to have office hours in the dark corner on the fourth floor. I can have office hours on the Quad,” Benbow said.
Transparency for Benbow and Thompson means a more accessible Student Government website that is organized, student-friendly and abides by the legislation to make Senate voting records public. Not only do they hope for easier access to Student Government but to make university information more instantaneous to students.
Their safety agenda includes more visible and working blue call boxes, additional lighting on campus, monthly campus safety walks led by student employees to identify any holes in campus safety and a better relationship between university police and the university. An improved relationship between Texas State and campus police includes more mental health crisis training.
Benbow hopes to add four floors to a parking garage and charge an additional $2 to every student’s tuition. He explained that improved parking would not be an immediate project and will be a referendum by students, but he hopes to make an impact for future Bobcats. For an environmentally sustainable future, Thompson proposed to allow Bobcat Blend, a mulch processing group on campus, to collect compost from more dining halls and increase their funding.