The Red and Black

Issue date: 3/24/09 Section: News

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Media Credit: PHOTOS BY KEVNEY MOSES Marlene Otero (above) and Mary Carlson (below) are running independently as senators for the Student Government Association. [Click to enlarge]

You've seen the signs. You've received the free candy. You've heard the speeches before class.

While campaigning for Student Government Association offices, The Remix Party and The New Deal have blanketed campus encouraging students to vote. Despite publicity for the groups, some candidates are running for SGA office as independents.

Marlene Otero, a junior from Newnan, is running to be a senator for the School of Public and International Affairs. Otero said she considered joining a party, but she ultimately decided to campaign independently.

"When you run independently, you have more leeway," she said. "You can go after your own ideas instead of being held back by a party's platform. I definitely believe independent was the way to go."

Otero's platform contains three main goals.

Her first goal is to start an ambassador program in SPIA to help younger students make decisions.

"There are three schools in the University that have successful ambassador programs, and I want SPIA to be a fourth," she said.

The second goal Otero outlined involves planning an event for graduate and law schools. Students interested in post-graduate institutions can attend sessions to obtain application information.



Otero's third goal relates to the availability of SPIA major courses.

"I want to work with the administration to either increase the number of major classes SPIA offers per semester or increase the size of those classes, so that less students will need to graduate late because of classes they couldn't get into during their first four years," she said.

Mary Carlson, a freshman from Atlanta, is running as an independent for Franklin College senator.

"I'm an independent person by nature, and I felt there were too many restrictions with running with a party," she said.

Her platform is geared toward helping students.

"I want to create a life skills seminar to teach freshmen common sense things, like cooking and how to change a tire," she said. "I also want to work directly with students on campus. If students have a goal, I will work with them to achieve it. "

Carlson aims to make the University more environmentally friendly.

"I am working with the Go Green Alliance, and I want to increase the amount of recycling that goes on here," she said.

Melissa Worth, a freshman from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., is also running for Franklin senator. She outlined three initiatives.

First, she said she plans to create a program that offers testing services similar to Kaplan to help students prepare for the GMAT and PCAT.

Second, Worth argued for the implementation of a midpoint evaluation system for teachers.

"It would be like the end-of-course evaluation, except it would occur in the middle of the year."

Third, Worth plans to revamp the plus/minus system, eliminating the C- and adding an A+ grade.

Worth said running independently is challenging because independents don't have the resources the major parties have.

"If I don't win this year, I want to look into running with a party next year," she said.

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