The Forward Movement has taken campus by storm in Morgantown. Running unopposed, Jules Merow and Mac McIntyre are WVU’s newest president and vice president, respectively. I wanted to meet with them to get some insight into their plans for the school, but with the campaign, classes, and busy schedules in general, I had to resort to email. Here are their responses to some questions about their plans for SGA:
Alex (me): What made you decide to run?
Jules: I have grown up a diehard WVU fan, and saw the opportunity to make changes that affect everyday student life when I joined SGA as a freshman. After nearly 3 years in the organization, I know the power that, not only SGA has, but that the student body has to influence decisions that impact them as students, and I’ve seen what happens when students come together to improve student life. Mac and I want to make the student body realize the power of their voice and work for the students each day; we saw the best way to do this was by running for Student Body President and Vice President.
Mac: I really wanted to solve problems and make things better for my fellow students.
Alex: What sparked something in you to want to be the voice of the student body?
Jules: We have seen many different sides of things at WVU, from the administrative perspective, to the faculty perspective, to the student and SGA perspective. This is very important to representing the student body because we need to understand why things are happening a certain way, what students do or do not like about it, and what the students want to see. This led us to realize the impact we can make and the great opportunity we have to represent nearly 30,000 at our state’s flagship institution.
Mac: I feel like I’ve spent a lot of time listening to students in my 4 years here. I feel that I can speak for them and be their voice.
Alex: What are some specific platforms you’re really holding at a high priority, and what are a few things you wish to accomplish while in government?
Jules: Our ticket name was Forward because we want to implement a system within SGA, as well as programs across campus, that will move our student body and University ‘forward.’ We are going to create a student senate that is representative of each college at WVU. These senators will serve as the face of their college and increase SGA’s efficiency in helping the student body. We plan to increase transparency with the ongoing tuition and fee increases to allow students to see where their money is going and how they are benefitting from these increases. We will also continue the work of President Capel and Vice President Morgan in hopes of developing a better relationship with the city and residents of Morgantown.
Mac: Forming a student senate with representatives from each college is our highest priority. We are also going to make sure students have more of a say in where their finances go. I want students to have a stronger voice. We are also working to get a student in Morgantown city council to make sure we have representation in city government as well.
The involvement of students within the city and the school is very apparent. These two have very big plans for the school, and I have confidence that those plans will be carried out accordingly. The fact that student input is so important to them is promising; this school will move Forward.