Government Association
office has begun and the
incumbents, Vice President of
Executive Orders Dave
Mullen and Executive
Secretary Kelly Bauman,
were running unopposed as
of the March 25 edition of the
Centurion.
But now it seems that two
new and upcoming students
have entered the race.
Candidates John Skudris
for president and Ravi Patel,
vice president, are the upstart
hopefuls for the SGA leadership
and they are working
hard to get their message out.
Running on the platform of
‘student voice,’ Skudris and
Patel say that student concerns
will be the first they
will address in all situations,
including the hottest debate
on this campus, the smoking
ban.
In their campaign letters
circulating among the student
body they say, “While
we acknowledge the health
risks of cigarettes and the
inconvenience they provide
to non-smokers here at Bucks,
we do not believe that a universal
ban is the best way to
solve the problem.”
The current regulations at
Bucks state that all campus
buildings are smoke-free
environments and a possible
ban on the entire campus
could come as early the next
semester, meaning most
smokers are left out in the
cold in order to get a cigarette.
Patel suggests providing
tents away from the buildings
or designated areas so that
smokers will not interfere
with non-smokers.
“Well the ban is abolishing
people’s rights,” Skudris said
in a recent interview. “We
want to compromise with
designated smoker areas so
that non-smokers will not
have to deal clouds outside of
the doors created by smokers.”
But putting the brakes on a
full smoking ban is not the
only issue these two wish to
tackle if they are elected.
“We also want to install
suggestion boxes on all three
campuses,” Patel explained,
“in order to get a feel for what
the students want. Through a
top 10 list presented to the
faculty we hope to show what
the largest concerns on our
campus are and find ways to
fix them.”
Both candidates want to
place suggestion boxes at
each of Bucks’ campuses,
where students can deposit
notes about their concerns
and problems.
Upon their collection and
review, Skudris wants to outline
these issues into a report
which he will present to the
Board of Trustees, hoping to
start the process of solving
the problems.
“We don’t want to govern
[the students],” Patel clarified,
“we work as your voice
to the big dogs.”
But when asked if they lost
this race what they would do,
Skudris emphasized, “Even if
we’re not elected we want
our dream to live on. Some of
our ideas may be used by the
new administration and just
by doing that the student
voices are heard.”
For a full list of candidates
and to vote, visit
www.bucks.edu/sga.
The online poll will be open
from 9 a.m. April 7 to 9 a.m.
April 14.