Conversations with Candidates: Strive

Tanner Warmoth contributed to this article. 

Texas Tech students are told to strive for honor. Four candidates for Student Government Association executive positions say they are trying to do just that.

The Strive campaign bloc hopes to improve Tech by making it a more efficient and student-friendly campus.

Ben Sharp, Strive’s candidate for SGA president, hopes to improve academic advising across campus to help students get the most out of their academic experience. If elected, Sharp also wants to revive Raidergate, with concerts and other fun activities to enhance the Red Raider football game experience.

Picture provided by Strive.

Picture provided by Strive.

The bloc’s candidate for external vice president, Alex DeRossi, wants to improve transportation. If elected, one of his goals would be to develop the Safe Ride program so more students utilize the service. DeRossi also wants to implement 15-minutes parking spaces at academic buildings, for those times when students need to quickly drop off an assignment or talk to an instructor.

If elected as the leader of the Student Senate, Witt Westbrook, Strive’s candidate for internal vice president, would like to see the approval of legislation allowing alcohol sales at the Jones AT&T Stadium on game days. He hopes this would encourage more responsible drinking and lower the amount of binge drinking at tailgates.

Kevin Koestler, the bloc’s candidate for graduate vice president, hopes to increase funding for academic research, so more graduate students would be able to conduct research that interests them and present their findings at important conferences. If elected, he would also seek ways to lower the price of textbooks.

Watch “Conversations with Candidates” to learn more about each executive member of the Strive bloc!

Ben Sharp, SGA Presidential Candidate

Alex DeRossi, SGA External Vice Presidential Candidate 

Witt Westbrook, SGA Internal Vice Presidential Candidate 

Kevin Koestler, SGA Graduate Vice Presidential Candidate 

The Hub@TTU and SGA will host the 2016 SGA Executive Candidate Forum on Feb. 23. The forum will be live-streamed on The Hub@TTU website. Election days will be March 8 and 9.

Although certain Hub staff members may or may not support various campaigns, their views or opinions do not reflect those of The Hub@TTU as a whole. In the interest of fairness, The Hub@TTU will not be endorsing a particular campaign.

About Sarah Self-Walbrick

Graduate Executive Director — Mass Communication Graduate Student, Class of 2017
Sarah, a Lubbock native, has two bachelor of art degrees in electronic media and communication and journalism, and is pursuing a master's in mass communications. She loves Texas, her husband and dog, and good storytelling.