Student Association elections will take place March 25-27. Here is a breakdown of the candidates for president.
The president shall serve as the chief executive officer of the Student Association and has the ultimate responsibility for the enforcement of the constitution and bylaws of SA. He or she also serves as the official representative of SA, both inside and outside of the UB community.
Name: Erin Lachaal
Year: Junior
Major: Urban and public policy studies
Party: Impact
Current SA position: Entertainment Director
Erin Lachaal has worked in SA's Entertainment Department for three years, and she believes her experience has made her qualified and ready for the presidency.
"I spent all of my time in SA within the Entertainment Department, but I know a lot about all the other departments and the ongoings about the executive side of SA," she said.
A major component of Lachaal's platform is restructuring the SA office and its staff.
"I think there is a lack of staff where there needs to be, and too much staff where there doesn't need to be," she said.
Lachaal has proposed cutting all non-essential personnel from SA. She believes everyone on the SA staff - not including the e-board - is underpaid. She plans to increase staff stipends so workers are making at least minimum wage; she said the dismissal of the non-essential personnel will fund the increase.
She said the increased wages would increase efficiency in SA and thinks workers will be "more inclined to do the work that is asked of [them]."
If elected, Lachaal plans to coordinate office hours with her e-board to ensure at least one executive is in the office at all times. She also plans to implement a Google calendar on which clubs and students can see exactly where she and her e-board are at the time and can plan meetings accordingly.
She feels the $18,000 SA spent on staff orientation in August (traveling to Canada) is too much and said she would cut that amount to under $10,000 and allocate the money elsewhere.
She wants to implement a hiring committee that would stay consistent for all hiring positions. She said the hiring process in her experience has been unprofessional and disorganized and could use structure and guidelines.
If elected, Lachaal, a Buffalo native, plans to bring students to the Western New York experience by bringing back UB Trippin' - a program that bused students from UB to various places in Buffalo. Lachaal said the destinations would include Shea's Performing Arts Center and Helium Comedy Club.
She likes the initiatives current SA President Sam McMahon has implemented and is currently implementing, like the holiday bus shuttle and altering of the film series, and said she plans to make them more efficient.
Name: James Ingram
Year: Junior
Major: Political science; philosophy of law minor
Party: Value
Current SA position: Academic Coordinator and senator
James Ingram believes his experience with the Student Association has been "diverse."
He has been involved in clubs, including the College Republicans, College Democrats and UB Conservatives, was an SA Assemblyman last year and is currently a senator and SA's Academic Coordinator.
"I think I am the most experienced candidate," Ingram said. "[SA] is an organization I am very passionate about. It has given me so many opportunities, and I am happy to be in a position now to step up into another leadership role in the organization."
Ingram wants to continue some currently in-place programs that are helping students, like the holiday bus shuttle, and bring back some programs like the SA book exchange.
He said a big part of his platform is updating the way SA operates. The organization currently holds classes that teach personnel the basic operating procedures - like how to book a room or how the finance department works. Ingram plans to create tutorial videos so that people who miss the classes would still be able to learn how the organization runs.
Ingram wants to clarify exactly which requirements exist for clubs every semester - to make them "crystal clear," he said. Ingram said the current system varies between different club councils and sometimes clubs don't know if they have fulfilled their requirements.
He has spoken to Mike Lewis, the student activities associate and student government liaison from Student Life, about making all track sheets for clubs submitted online. Ingram said this would streamline the process and increase the efficiency of SA.
Ingram is trying to add an SA office in Harriman Hall. He said this way, students from South Campus could pick up tickets for events there instead of coming all the way to North Campus.
Ending the SA off-campus orientation is also a major component of Ingram's platform. He said by moving it back to campus, it would save money and be more beneficial for the staff.
Ingram is confident in his Value ticket. He said his team has remained stable throughout the process with virtually no one dropping out, which commonly happens while arranging tickets for SA elections.
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