Collegiettes™, I am pleased to introduce you to Wake Forest’s three candidates for student government president. We’re doing a 3-part Q&A with each presidential nominee, so check out each of the three candidates’ profiles to see where they stand on the big issues before you head to the polls ( . . . or WIN) on Tuesday! Now, meet William McClure:
HC: Why are you the best candidate for SGA President?
WM: I’m running for SG President because I want to be an advocate for students. If SG isn’t on your side, who will be? With my service on many of the committees that are the interface between students and the administration, I have experience in representing student interests in a collaborative way that gets results. In addition, I will increase SG’s accessibility with students so we can be more approachable and knowledgeable about student opinion. Without working together and getting all sides of an issue, we can’t find a real solution for anything.
HC: What’s the biggest issue on the Wake campus that you’d like to change?
WM: Obviously there are the perennial issues that students want to see addressed and that I will work to improve such as dining, reducing the cost of course materials, and, of course, parking. One of the biggest issues I see at Wake is the lack of communication between groups. The way I will address this is with events that bring together students from different backgrounds and groups. I will create a President’s Circle in which student leaders may come once a semester to discuss and collaborate on solving problems they face, as well as fill me in on things they want SG to address. In addition, to promote the spirit of unity, I will put a new spin on Seize the Quad by making it a day party so that all students can enjoy a party atmosphere together.
HC: What’s your favorite thing about Wake Forest?
WM: I love everything about Wake! From the wonderful people, the supportive administration and faculty members, to the diverse student body, and opportunities to be involved. My job next year is to work to improve our campus to make it even better. I know it will be a challenge, but I’m excited for it.
HC: What are 3 things you’d most like to accomplish as SGA President?
WM: My top priority is letting people know SG is here for students! I want to make SG more accessible to everyone by continuing to improve the Constituent Email system, which, as Secretary, I streamlined this year. I want students to know we are here to advocate for you.
The second thing is to foster an increased spirit of connectedness on campus. Too often we get caught up in labels and not recognizing that we are all Wake students first. To accomplish this, I want to create an easily accessible comprehensive calendar in which the leaders of the major student organizations can post their calendar of activities so that students can see all the events on campus together. It would essentially be a glorified Google calendar and would function more efficiently than the current WakeSync.
My third goal is to advocate for student interests to the administration. In my role as an elected member of the SG Executive Board, I have learned that administrators want to help students but in order for them to do that, they must have willing, collaborative student leaders who can give them the student perspective, whether it agrees or conflicts with their original understanding of student interests.
HC: What has prepared you for being SGA President?
WM: As an elected SG Executive, I have seen firsthand the issues that students want to be addressed and how best to achieve a good outcome for my peers. In the past, I have worked on issues with technology, dining, textbooks and student-faculty engagement, and, if elected, I would be able to continue to work to improve upon these aspects of Wake. I encourage you to check out willforpresident.com to see a full account of my activities and the commitments I have made to improve our campus.