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City council candidates to speak at MSC forum
Organizers stress importance of College Station May election
By: Amanda Grosgebauer
Issue date: 4/24/08 Section: News
The Student Government Association will have a forum with the College Station city council candidates Thursday to discuss the issues as the May election approaches.
The six candidates, vying for three seats, will be present to engage students, city politics that most affect the University and student residents of College Station.
"SGA is so focused on this election primarily because of the most recent discussion of the possibility of a housing ordinance designed to limit the number of unrelated residents in College Station," said Darrek Ferrell, chairman of the External Affairs committee within Student Senate.
Ferrell said that is not the only reason. There are a number of other issues facing students as residents.
"There is a possibility that there could be a tax freeze on the school tax paid by senior citizens," said the senior political science major. "This would increase any future tax burden on younger College Station residents, student and nonstudent alike."
Additional issues to be discussed include drinking in the park behind Northgate, neighborhood integrity and plans for the future growth of College Station, Ferrell said.
Student Sen. Tyson Fetzer, a senior biology major, has worked to organize the forum to insure that students are completely informed about candidate positions on the issues.
"The local elections for College Station have a direct impact on how students live during their time spend at Texas A&M," Fetzer said. "College Station is a unique city that has an overwhelming student population and students need to recognize the impact that they can have on elections."
Ferrell said Student Government hopes that the forum will present which candidates are "pro-student" and have stances that align with student concerns in conjunction with other stakeholders throughout the city.
"In this particular election, the most obvious sign of a pro-student candidate is one who takes a position against any ordinance limiting where students can live and is in favor of better communication within our neighborhoods," Ferrell said. "When we refer to neighborhoods as 'ours,' we mean the neighborhoods that belong to anyone who calls College Station home, whether student or otherwise.
"Students should care about not only the candidate forum but also about the election because local government has more of an immediate effect on the livelihood of all residents of College Station than any other election."
Ferrell said that in local elections, a student's vote is one in 4,000, whereas in national elections, a citizen's vote may be one in 240 million.
"Students should care about this forum because of how it may influence the way in which they use their very powerful vote," he said.
The forum will be at 1 p.m. in the Memorial Student Center Flag Room.
The six candidates, vying for three seats, will be present to engage students, city politics that most affect the University and student residents of College Station.
"SGA is so focused on this election primarily because of the most recent discussion of the possibility of a housing ordinance designed to limit the number of unrelated residents in College Station," said Darrek Ferrell, chairman of the External Affairs committee within Student Senate.
Ferrell said that is not the only reason. There are a number of other issues facing students as residents.
"There is a possibility that there could be a tax freeze on the school tax paid by senior citizens," said the senior political science major. "This would increase any future tax burden on younger College Station residents, student and nonstudent alike."
Additional issues to be discussed include drinking in the park behind Northgate, neighborhood integrity and plans for the future growth of College Station, Ferrell said.
Student Sen. Tyson Fetzer, a senior biology major, has worked to organize the forum to insure that students are completely informed about candidate positions on the issues.
"The local elections for College Station have a direct impact on how students live during their time spend at Texas A&M," Fetzer said. "College Station is a unique city that has an overwhelming student population and students need to recognize the impact that they can have on elections."
Ferrell said Student Government hopes that the forum will present which candidates are "pro-student" and have stances that align with student concerns in conjunction with other stakeholders throughout the city.
"In this particular election, the most obvious sign of a pro-student candidate is one who takes a position against any ordinance limiting where students can live and is in favor of better communication within our neighborhoods," Ferrell said. "When we refer to neighborhoods as 'ours,' we mean the neighborhoods that belong to anyone who calls College Station home, whether student or otherwise.
"Students should care about not only the candidate forum but also about the election because local government has more of an immediate effect on the livelihood of all residents of College Station than any other election."
Ferrell said that in local elections, a student's vote is one in 4,000, whereas in national elections, a citizen's vote may be one in 240 million.
"Students should care about this forum because of how it may influence the way in which they use their very powerful vote," he said.
The forum will be at 1 p.m. in the Memorial Student Center Flag Room.
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