With the semester ending, campaign season brings about candidates wanting to make new ways of change for the 2023-24 academic year. 

SGA has had a monumental and very engaging year, from a back fully in-person Homecoming experience, to the removal of Mister N.C. A&T; Curtis Shannon Jr. after dealing with mental health concerns.

Campaigning started March 13, 2023. General elections are being held today, Wednesday, March 29th, from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m., and runoff elections will be held Friday, March 31st, from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. 

During the campaign season, candidates will have the opportunity to give speeches and rally supporters, with hopes to be elected for the desired roles they are running for. 

In the meantime, candidates use many means necessary to reach the general student population. Stopping and speaking with students in the Student Center, Williams Dining Hall, or advertising their campaign through various social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. 

Campaign season for students can become overwhelming, considering how many candidates talk to students daily. Breaun Blue, a junior finance student, feels the approach is okay, but the number of candidates that approach can be excessive.

“I do not like the fact they come up to me all at once,” Blue said. “I am too honest for that because if they were multiple people, I would be like, hey, she came up to me first, so I’m intrigued with her first, so I’ll most likely vote for her first.” 

Dallas Savage, a junior civil engineering student, believes that when candidates come to give their speeches it feels forced, and he then feels commanded to listen. 

“I wish they would give me the option to talk to them or not,” Savage said. “Me wanting to vote for you is going to take more than you simply promoting your campaign by voice to me.” 

Everett-Alan Hood, a sophomore computer science student, does not mind the candidates’ promoting themselves, in fact, he sees it as an opportunity for the candidates to grow. 

“It is completely fine, it is a very valid way to expand your brand and make a name for yourself,” Hood said. “I takes a lot of effort to go up to random strangers and talk about what you envision for the school.” 

Most candidates make their campaigns based on familiar shows or music albums to advertise their goals and achievements and to get more votes and acknowledgment. 

Some students feel that candidates running for SGA positions just use it as an opportunity to put leadership skills under their resumes with no desire to do real work. Jaipria Branch, a senior health service management student, sees SGA as a title for popularity. 

I feel like they just want the title,” Branch said. “They want something on their resume, and they want to be known on campus.” 

However, Breaun Blue appreciates the fact that campaign season allows students to seek out more leadership opportunities.

“Leadership is really important at our young age,” Blue said. “Campaign season allows students to get out of their comfort zone.”

With campaign season, the challenge is knowing who wants to present changes at N.C A&T or those who want the checkbox for their resume. 

Sophomore computer engineering student, Devon Copper sees voting as a risk because you never know a candidate’s real intentions.

“There is no real way to tell,” Copper said. “Sometimes you can tell by the looks, sometimes you can tell by how they promote themselves publicly, but by the time you know their real intentions, they have already achieved gaining the position.”

Some students vote for those they personally know and others choose at random. Jaipira Branch votes but only with the intention of getting out of the way. 

“I vote sometimes,” Branch said, “But that is because people harass you if you don’t vote.”

Students will have the opportunity to vote online at VoteNet, which can be found in student emails. 

Campaign season is a sight on campus from the creativity of campaigns, the reason for running, and to hope for new changes within the next academic year. Students will be voting to see if those candidates elected will uphold their promises instead of only making it a concern of a title. 

To find out who wins the elections, results will be announced today around 6 pm in the N.C. A&T Student Center, and lived streamed on The A&T Register and NCAT SGA Instragram pages.