Ronald Lowenfield
My name is Ronald (or Ronnie) Lowenfield, and I want to be your next student body president. The following is a brief list of my qualifications for the job: Dedman II senator, Student Senate Finance Committee, Inter-Fraternal Council Judicial Board, Student Foundation Student Ambassador, fraternity treasurer; and member of the Constitutional Convention.
My involvement in different organizations on campus has given me a very broad perspective in regard to student concerns. I am currently treasurer of my fraternity, and I have been involved in Student Foundation and the Inter-Fraternity Council. This fact alone has enabled me to branch out and have a real, firsthand observation and experience of what the bona fide issues are throughout the rest of this community, not just issues involved with Student Senate. I have a simple platform based on three objectives:
First, I will fight to curb the unreasonable increases in tuition each year. This does not seem beyond my influence given the fact that the average increase last year in four-year private Universities was about 20 percent lower than the almost 8 percent increase here at SMU.
Second, I will work on improving the quality of student life, inside and outside of the classroom. I will make public the positive events that shine great light onto this community, for I do not believe that all of the students on this campus get the recognition they deserve. I will work hard to increase students’ understanding of courses before they enter the classroom (by encouraging the administration to provide teacher evaluations, as done in the law school).
Third, I will address the need for increased funding from the administration for student groups. Student Senate does not have an endless supply of money, and therefore I am going to make a bold stand in encouraging the administration to step up and meet its financial obligations that are coming directly out of your student fees.
For the practical details of these three tenets, I invite you to visit my Facebook group or contact me directly. I am not a meek candidate. My goals will be actively pursued in all that I do as your president. Ultimately, my platform is grounded in the simple idea that a president should do no more than represent the entirety of his constituency, and should do nothing less than serve them daily with integrity.
Tomorrow when you vote, remember “Lowenfield for High Yield.” It might just be the best investment you ever make.
Ronnie can be reached at [email protected].
Katherine Tullos
Hey Mustangs! My name is Katherine Tullos, and I am running for student body president. I am currently serving as your student body vice president and have served in Student Senate for three years, serving as student body secretary and Organizations chair. Next year, I would love to continue to represent my fellow Mustangs’ interests in Student Senate.
As student body vice president, I have initiated senator Meet and Greets with each school, significantly strengthened the Affiliate Senator Program, started the Student Senate newsletter, improved our Student Senate Web site, created an in-depth senator training program and assisted in passing numerous pieces of legislation. Currently, I am working on improving the Giddy-Up program to ensure campus safety.
This year, Student Senate has focused on itself as an organization through the Research and Recommendation Committee and our Constitutional Convention. As student body president, I will focus on utilizing those changes to best address the external concerns of all SMU students. We, the students, are the foundation of our University and Student Senate should be relaying your concerns to the administration.
As student body president, I want to ensure that student concerns are being addressed. With regard to controversial and crucial concerns on campus, I am dedicated to bringing together students, administrators, faculty and staff to discuss those concerns in order to best target the needs of our university. Instead of conducting separate discussions, our community needs to come together as one body to address university concerns.
Additionally, I would like to address something that every student encounters during registration: inadequate academic advising. We are fortunate to be able to double or even triple major at SMU, yet our advising needs to be improved so students are best able to fit the necessary classes and requirements into their degree program. As president, I would bring this student concern to the administration, especially the Office of the Provost, to ensure that all students in all schools are receiving good academic advising.
Also, it is important to better support our student organizations on campus, both organizationally and financially. The changes I made to the Affiliate Program this year are only the steppingstone in ensuring that our student organizations are aware of Student Senate legislation. I am also dedicated to streamlining our budgeting process and encouraging student organizations to collaborate and bring together different aspects of our campus.
Together as a Senate and a student body, we can create positive change for our University. I have three years experience with Student Senate and will be able to best represent your interests. Today and Thursday, remember to cast your ballot at smu.edu/elections. Let your voice be heard so that your interest and those of the university are best represented.
Vote KT for S.B.P!
Katherine can be reached at [email protected].
