Student Body President candidate Terry Dike, a senior mechanical engineering major, said he would forgo all the powers of a super hero in exchange for the power of discernment, the ability to understand any situation and, in effect, tell the future.
Dike’s campaign has chosen four areas he wants to work with as a priority.
“I want to focus on student financial aid. I want to strengthen the Aggie family, making that family closer knit,” Dike said. “I want students to recognize the power in their voice, and through a unity they can recognize that. Lastly, but not least, going green. I think the University should be more environmentally friendly.”
Having worked on a student advisory board, Dike developed two plans that he said could help students financially. One plan involves getting the signatures of 25,000 to 35,000 Texas A&M students on a petition to the State Senate requesting more financial aid.
The other plan Dike has involves raising money from businesses and donors outside the University and using that money to endow scholarships. The scholarships would range from $500 to $1000, and would be rewarded to students regardless of academic standing.
Although he didn’t mention it among his four platform points, Dike did say “Yes” when asked if he believed the University had a problem with sexual, religious, ethnic or racial discrimination. He briefly explained what he considered a possible solution.
“What I’ve done in my campaign [is bring together a group of people] who may not know each other. We get to working together into the night, and we get laughing together, poking fun at each other, knowing each other,” Dike said. “It all involves going past your comfort level. Realizing people are ‘struggling like me, and working like me.’?
“We have to look at the history of the institution. Once, no women were admitted, no non-Anglo Saxons were admitted, so there were those problems. While there are problems at our foundation, top to bottom we must get better.”
A black candidate himself, Dike said he was unafraid of discrimination hurting his chances of being elected. Dike said he expected Aggies to look at his résumé instead of his skin; a résumé which, he said, will show his constituents that he is the most experienced of candidates to support.
“I’m more qualified than anyone else. That’s why I’m not worried about a disadvantage due to discrimination.”