Sasser’s supporters chanted his name and fraternity cheer moments after his name was called from Cater’s porch.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life,” Sasser said. “The face should describe it all; I’m in shock, I’m excited. You know when she said 57 percent, I got so nervous.”
Cink and Sasser were suitemates their sophomore year at Auburn.
“I have every single respect for him,” Sasser said. “He did such a great job. I owe him so much. I owe my parents so much for raising me the way they did. I cannot thank my friends enough. They’ve been here. It should not be a cliché thing to say, but, without my savior Jesus Christ, I’d be nowhere.”
Liese Sasser, Kurt’s mother, said she felt this was a solid campaign between the three candidates.
“I just felt like he worked really hard, but more than that, his campaign, the people on his campaign just so unselfishly gave of themselves, and I just feel very blessed,” Liese said.
Jacob Watkins, current SGA president, said he is excited for the upcoming president and year.
“He had a strong platform and ran a great campaign,” Watkins said. “The same goes for Brad, both of them. I hope all of it gets implemented. They had some great ideas. They both ran very clean, great campaigns and the support for their two groups was awesome. You could tell because the voter turn out was high, and you could tell by the support they had.”
The runoff began Friday after a close race between Sasser with 32.5 percent and Cink with 36.5 percent of the votes.
“We really tried to be as organized as possible, just really trying to get people out as much as we can, and spread them over campus,” Sasser said. “And you know, it really comes down to them working hard and a really good work ethic from everybody.”
Cink said he would not change his strategy despite the outcome.
“I mean, it’s a little bit disappointing,” Cink said. “I feel like we ran a pretty good campaign and honestly, we did our best. Whatever happened, happened.”
Cink said his wishes the best to his opponent.
“I mean he did a great job, and I think that it was just a clean race, and I’m glad we were able to run together,” Cink said. “I’d like to see him really come out with his platform points and really elaborate on them; just do what he said he’d do.”
the fact that either candidate thinks that they ran a good "campaign" is just laughable. all the sga is about is which fraternity or sorority you are with. they are nothing more than a waste of time and money.
The Student Center may be used by many students if it is open 24 hours, that is true, but is it worth the cost in our current economic climate? If students need to study after 12 am, there is always room to study at the library (even during finals, the library clears out a lot after 12) and opening the Student Center during late night hours would definitely add unnecessary costs when we are looking at more budget cuts this year. The SGA lobbied for a 24 hour library three years ago when we had a much more stable economy. There is no comparison between our economic situation now, and trying to open the SC 24 hours, and our situation in 2007. My guess is that a 24 hour SC will not happen, at least not this year, but I guess we will have to see.
Of course the SGA works with the city and they listen to the University and the students because we are a major revenue source for them. However, drive down Magnolia Avenue tonight and check out the temporary lights they have placed at all of the crosswalks there. I don't think Kurt Sasser has begun enacting his platform less than 24 hours after his win. The Board of Trustees discussed the pedestrian safety problems at their February 6th meeting, and the University has been working to improve the Magnolia Ave. situation and pedestrian safety in general since then. The University was already all over that issue before Mr. Sasser put it in his platform.
Card swipe access is a great idea. That's why many colleges at Auburn already have it. COSAM, Engineering, CADC - they already have this access. Those majors require a lot of time out of class to complete assignments/projects, study, and work in groups that cannot be addressed with just library resources, so those colleges have always been accommodating in allowing their students to have access to buildings after hours. But here is another example of Mr. Sasser looking at increasing overhead costs for Auburn. Letting students into all of Auburn's academic buildings 24/7 means more utilities costs, security costs, and liability costs. Students should definitely have access to some buildings as needed, but Mr. Sasser continued to tout his awareness of students' economic concerns, but that is not reflected in his platform points.
I think the new arena will be a wonderful benefit for the AU Basketball team and the Athletics department. But the benefits that the previous poster mentioned have little to do with non-basketball playing students, and even less to do with any actual benefits from revenue that students will see within Mr. Sasser's one-year term. Basketball recruiting has nothing to do with student life, besides the enjoyment of having a ranked team, and the revenue earned from higher attendance at basketball games goes to Athletics, not students.
The Gubernatorial Debates are very important for Auburn to be recognized for its ability to host an important event for future possible events, and for politicians to be aware of issues involving higher education. However, Mr. Sasser's platform point was to raise awareness for the event, which will mostly be handled through the University Office of Communication and Marketing. Also, Mr. Sasser didn't get the date correct in his platform. The debates will take place on October 19, not in November.
The previous poster stated Kurt Sasser's platform points better than I heard Mr. Sasser discuss them all week. However, even with a better understanding of his platform, I am still not convinced that many of Mr. Sasser's points are feasible or relevant to Auburn students. This is not to say that Mr. Sasser will not be a successful President. He will step into his role next year and will learn what implementing changes at Auburn really takes and the factors that go into making a change like keeping the SC open 24 hours. But I do not agree that the majority of voters read and voted based on the candidates' platforms. Kurt Sasser's love for Auburn is apparent, but it is no more or less than the other two candidates. If you really understand the position of SGA President, you must have a love for this University to be willing to do it - and all three of these men love Auburn.
WDE
It states "What we would like to see is an SGA executive group that actually follows through on the promises made in its collective platforms."
I think that the past president, Jacob Watkins, did a fantastic job implementing his platform and serving students. Lauren Hayes, the previous SGA president, was able to accomplish this to an even greater extent. She really put sustainability at the forefront and worked fantastically with the Board of Trustees. I am not sure that we have ever had a more professional President than her, and she definitely was able to put forth the concerns of the students.
As far as the article's statement "Bully for mentioning the issues, candidates, but not one of you offers any concrete plans as to how you will accomplish these goals." That is the fault of the students. It is hard enough to get the students to read the platforms in their current length. If the candidates were to draw out the process in which their platforms were to be implemented it would be over 50 pages. Having worked in SGA for several years, it is quite clear what a drawn out process it is to accomplishing anything. It takes hundreds of emails, phonecalls and meetings, and that is really the "concrete" aspect of it, but that is not something that a candidate puts in a platform.
As far as the previous poster's concern about the student center being open 24 hours: With the required meal plan for students now, it only makes since that they have the food providers available to them on their schedule. When SGA pushed to have the library open 24 hrs (which it is now open 24 hrs because of SGA's work) there was the same concern about the amount it would be used and the money it would cost to keep it open. There is currently no debate amongst the administration that it was the correct decision to have it open 24 hours. The Student Center will be used if it is open.
As far as pedestrian safety being the concern of the city: the poster is correct, the city is largely in charge of this. But what the poster fails to recognize is the working relationship between SGA and the city. There have been many changes that the City has made because of SGA's request (the changes at the Mama G's intersection being one of them). This issue is a perfect one for SGA to focus on. SGA is the representation of the students, not just to the Board of Trustees and administration, but also to the city. It makes sense that its primary concern would be the safety of the students. It already works with the University to insure that the campus has the proper lighting, that there are substantial security polls and that the landscaping does not create dangerous areas on campus.
The card swipe access to buildings is another great idea. One has to realize that not all Auburn students have the assumed resources. They do not all have computers and other technologies that are required for them to complete their school work. If someone wants to steal something from one of the buildings, it is not difficult to get into any of the buildings. Having the buildings available to students of their respective majors will not create any substantial increase in "trouble."
The platform point of awareness of the arena is much more than it seems. Auburn's basketball team has been ranked the worst in the SEC. It has poor recruiting, primarily because of poor fan support. This initiative to gain recognition of the new Arena is meant to increase fan support. Basketball can be an aspect that bring money into the University as football does. The money is already being spent on the basketball team, it makes sense that we would make that investment work for us. On top of that, there is the aspect of campus life, that a better basketball team, would make more enjoyable.
Raising awareness of the Gubernatorial Debates is not just a one time event. It is establishing Auburn as a venue. Watching the Presidential Debates, you saw many of them at Universities; Aubrn's name was not in the running. This is because we have not hosted such events. Having debates at Auburn makes the candidates have to address the concerns of the University and its students. This is more than just hosting a debate, is is forcing the politicians to take notice of our University, which will hopefully aid Auburn in the future. I think that the learning opportunity that this provides is also underestimated.
The people I know that voted read the platforms and made their decisions based upon them. Furthermore, having been involved in SGA with these candidates, there is no way to express the amount of work that Kurt Sasser put forth in SGA. This is not to make a comment on the contributions of the other two candidates, as they also made substantial contributions. But Auburn is Kurt Sasser's passion and he put everything he had into the positions in which he served.
Kurt Sasser will do a fantastic job. I realize that Brad Cink also had a great platform, and I have no doubt that his platform points will be implemented and that he will play an essential role in the upcoming Executive Board.
WAR EAGLE
Awesome!
Next year, anyone does that to me, my middle finger will be in your face...so keep your distance.
So let's break it down...
Student center 24 hours? Having lived in the Quad, it would've been nice...but only if I lived in the Quad. The closest mass parking is the stadium parking deck which would require security/lighting between the deck and center. $$$. The electricity in the Student Center? Big money. Paying people to work the Student Center during those extra hours? Money. This has lots of money written all over it. And what would it really do? The library is already open 24 hours, with a parking deck immediately next to it. Why would I choose the Student Center over the library? The library does get crowded, but after 12 midnight (when the Student Center closes) is it really that bad? And this would be an ongoing cost, because it would have to be kept open 24 hours...all the time.
Pedestrian Safety- while I do agree with more lights and the safety of everyone, is this really in the SGA's hands? The City of Auburn should be taking care of this.
Card Swipe- this is already implemented in the College of Engineering. Do we really want 24,000 people to have access to Auburn's technology, resources, etc. 24/7. It's just asking for trouble.
Aware of the Resources and Benefits of the Arena? This is by far the worst part of this platform. This information could be done in a simple email or posters around campus. And it will only benefit the students who it will be new to. So after the Arena is a year old, what is this going to do?
SGA sponsored gubernatorial debate. I do think students need to know about this election. These are changing times, and the person elected will be in office many years. But promoting higher education? Once again, this is will not be an ongoing thing, as it will end on Election Day in November.
See what happens when you do your homework on the election? Which is why I advise you, Auburn student body, to vote for the platforms.