Focusing on morals, values and integrity, Karl Pfluger said if he is elected student body president he will work to bring back the Aggie Code of Honor.
“When I first came here as a freshman the first thing I heard at my new student conference was that Aggies don’t lie, cheat or steal–they exaggerate, collaborate and they borrow,” said Pfluger, a senior political science major. “That really got to me and I would like to work with Dr. Gates on (the academic code of honor).”
Pfluger said the fact that cheating is more common at A&M than at any other college campus is bothersome, and he would like to implement a system that would discourage students to cheat.
Despite his love for Bonfire, Pfluger said, students should concentrate on activities other than Bonfire to restore unity.
“I think we have got to look at the big picture of Bonfire. Was it really the tradition of the activity or the tradition of the spirit that Bonfire created?” he said. “I want to create an activity to not replace Bonfire by any means, probably not even hold it when Bonfire was held, but create something that captures the spirit of Bonfire.”
He said he does not want to divide Aggies and would encourage members of the Unity Project off-campus bonfire to work more closely with the University to be in the mainstream of ideas and form a coalition for a greater cause for the entire University.
Pfluger said he voted for all three fee referendums last month and said he feels the student body was not informed properly of the specifics for the increases.
“Just because the fee doesn’t apply directly to you, it probably applies to you indirectly,” he said.
Pfluger said he sees the role of diversity on campus as a training session prior to entering the work force.
“We need to create an environment that is similar to the demographics similar to the workplace we are going to be in,” he said. “I hate that students are uninformed and they get caught up on the racial profiling or the quotas and affirmative action.”
Working closely with A&M President Dr. Robert M. Gates and the newly appointed vice president of diversity are ways to achieve a more welcoming environment, he said.