Executive VP candidates

Anna Bisig

For Anna Bisig, there are more issues than just plus/minus grading to worry about.

Bisig, a Louisville junior, is running for Student Government Association executive vice president. She said she would like to see the university work toward renovating the Thompson Complex.

“My major goal, being a biology major, is to get as much money as possible for the Thompson buildings,” Bisig said. “I want to see a lot of good things coming from that.”

She thinks those renovations are just one thing that will benefit Western and attract prospective students.

Bisig has been in SGA for a year.

“I feel really strongly about SGA,” she said. “I think I can do a lot. I’m a hard worker.”

Bisig said making the step from SGA congress to an executive position will be difficult, no matter who wins the elections.

“We’re going to have to learn a whole new role,” she said. “At the same time, it will be a lot of fun. It will be something we both care about.”

Bisig said one problem with SGA is that the student body doesn’t respect SGA as much as it should.

“They don’t use us as much as they could,” she said.

Bisig, who is also involved in Phi Mu sorority and Tri-Beta Biology Club, said she believes SGA can do much to help students.

Safety is another issue that Bisig would like to see reformed.

Bisig said university administrators did an OK job in improving security on campus after Pellville freshman Katie Autry was attacked in her Poland Hall dorm room in May.

But Bisig said she believes more changes can be made.

Among other changes, Bisig would like the dorms to change rules that “don’t make sense.”

She said she would also like to see more visibility of campus police, and security guards in the dorms.

Bisig said she would like to see SGA give scholarship money to students because of this semester’s $200 tuition increase.

“We get money to give to organizations,” she said. “But with tuition increases, it’s just as important to give to individuals as organizations.”

But Bisig’s priority is to get students more involved with SGA. She said students don’t take advantage of their opportunity to voice their issues to SGA.

“If the students aren’t using the student government, then how can we get anything done?” she said.

Reach Beth Wilberding at [email protected].

Katie Dawson

Katie Dawson knows she’s young.

Dawson, a Radcliff sophomore, is the only sophomore running for a Student Government Association executive office.

But she said she believes the experience gained from four semesters in SGA and on university committees has prepared her to become executive vice president.

She plans on encouraging student participation on the Hill, monitoring the university’s budget and its effects on students and promoting the United States presidential election in November if elected.

She said being a member of university committees has given her the opportunity to learn about how Western operates.

“It’s allowed me to be more knowledgeable and pass on knowledge to others,” she said.

Dawson is a member of the parking and traffic, parking structure expansion and university curriculum committees.

Dawson, a corporate communication major, has also been the co-chair of SGA’s student affairs committee since spring 2003.

Dawson said she wasn’t sure at the time if she could take on the position as a freshman, but she was eager to try.

“I like knowing what’s going on, I like getting in the thick of things,” she said.

Dawson said she wants other students on campus to also be knowledgeable of events on and off of the Hill.

She said she would like SGA to help students learn about the United States presidential candidates so students can make an informed decision in November.

“It’s about who you think personally would be the better candidate,” she said.

Dawson would also like to encourage more communication between students, faculty and administration over the plus/minus grading debate.

“I admire the desire of people who want to change and want to improve academic quality, but plus/minus is not the answer,” she said.

She said she would like to conduct more student surveys and encourage students to attend weekly SGA meetings so they will know that student government isn’t “selective.”

“My whole goal is to hear the student voice and encourage campus involvement,” she said.

Dawson said she loves Western and the family environment many students are attracted to.

“I hope that, if elected, I’ll be able to serve our family well,” she said.

Dawson said she hopes students go online and vote.

“It’d be awesome if you voted for me, but just the fact that you’re voting is what I wanted you to do,” she said.

Reach Ashlee Clark at [email protected].