The Auburn experience is what is most important to SGA presidential candidate Dane Block, junior in finance. It is so important that it is what surrounds his platform.
His platform, Build a Block, has five “blocks” or components, all of which pertain to the
The first four are student safety, access and affordability, student dining and student transportation. These four ideas are a large portion of every students day and affect many students from how they get to campus, what they do on campus and how they get home at night.
Block’s final block is himself. But, above all else, he says he wants to serve the students.
“I want students to know that I recognize that this position is far greater than any organizational tie,” Block said. “To the students, through their eyes, I want to be a student body president. I want to be a leader that meets them wherever they are and advocates for them and serves them on a daily basis.”
Block has several ideas to improve upon changes the Keck administration made, mainly regarding student ticketing.
“If you look at what it did this past year, I mean, we had to put students in the upper deck because so many people were coming in,” Block said. “There were very few games where I was and I looked around and I saw somebody that wasn’t one of my peers. That’s a really incredible feeling.”
There was a mix of feelings about the new student-ticketing system. Block chalks that up to the vast amount of change in a short amount of time. As for his plans for this year regarding student ticketing, he is waiting to find out.
“I’m a builder. I like building things, but I like to make things better,” Block said. “I think it’s very crucial that we continue to incorporate student feedback and hear what the students think.”
During his time so far at Auburn, Block has been heavily involved, serving in both Cabinet and Senate.
“I’ve been able to take part in Cabinet, as the director of the organizational seating program and being a part of Cabinet taught me that relationships are what goes the furthest,” Block said. “But Senate, on the other side of that has told me he has taught me that there is a method to the madness and that’s what a lot of people get.”
Like many students across campus this past year, Block has been affected by the difficult issues that spark difficult conversations among students, especially student leaders.
It’s no secret that Auburn has faced issues with inclusion, sexual assault and corruption, but Block plans to combat all of it in a positive way.
“A lot of people think ‘this doesn’t affect me. The relationships I have with the people around me are great,’” Block said. “‘So I don’t really know what people are talking about.’”
That’s not the case, he said.
“You know things happen at Auburn that make people hurt,” he said. “There are people hurting on Auburn’s campus. And it is time that there is a student body leader that realizes that, acknowledges it, doesn’t find an excuse for it but just says I’m here. I want to hurt with you, I want to provide the aid and the help.”
Block’s goal through his campaign and his term as SGA president would be to add to things past leaders have done to improve the University.
“My slogan is Build with Block and build is what I want to do,” Block said. “I’m not coming in here to destroy and to take down something. I want to build on the foundation.”
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