By SUSAN NIELSEN
susan@du2.byu.edu
Two BYUSA candidates are tossing out the ties and formal dress of campaigning to sell their defining feature: their down-to-earth personalities.
'The tone of our personalities will make a difference. We have the depth to go the the heart of issues, the ability to show results, and the ability to have fun,' said Gavin McCaleb, who is running for BYUSA president.
McCaleb's running mate, Lauren Glisson, said, 'What will make us stand out is our fun-loving personalities. We want to make sure the work is done but have fun doing it.'
McCaleb and Glisson said they are trying to promote the personal side of BYU through their theme of unifying a unique student body.
Glisson, a junior from Hurricane, Washington County, majoring in public relations, compared the student body to a giant puzzle made up of different shapes and colors. She said she would like to see BYUSA bring every student together for one common purpose.
Their platform promotes a student-friendly campus with greater technological opportunites. Glisson and McCaleb are also proposing a program for students and faculty to influence BYU's use of new technology.
The two students are also working to beef up student participation in campus activies. As part of their platform to improve student leadership, Glisson and McCaleb said they want students to see what goes on behind closed doors in committee meetings and are encouraging students to participate in committees so they can see the decision-making process at work.
'I feel confident that the leaders of organizations care about the students,' said McCaleb, a junior from Boise, Idaho, majoring in psychology.
Glisson and McCaleb said they are also developing a peer advising program to improve academic guidance.
'There are too many specialists and not enough generalists,' McCaleb said. 'If a student knows their major, they will be able to contact an upperclassman to get advice from their experience with professors and sequence of classes,' McCaleb said. McCaleb said he hopes this will help students avoid frustration in the graduation process.
McCaleb is on the Student Advisory Council. He has served on the Academic Standards Committee, University Technology Committee, Traffic and Parking Committee and Testing Center Advisory Committee. He is also executive director of the Survey Office.
'Sitting on these different committees has given me experience on how they are all run,' McCaleb said. 'I feel I can apply the university principles and then apply them to students.'
Glisson is the vice president of Campus Activites. She has served as a Freshman Council representative and executive director of Campus Activities and is involved with the 'Y-cycle' pilot recycling program off campus.
'I've had a lot of experience with policies and procedures of BYU. You can't make changes if you don't know the system,' Glisson said. 'BYU has invested a lot in me and it's my turn to make BYU a better place.'