Conner Forbes is a junior majoring in finance and a current SGA senator for the Culverhouse College of Business. He is running uncontested to be the next SGA vice president for financial affairs.
Q: Why are you running for the VP for financial affairs position?
A: I’m running for this position because last year, when I was elected as senator, I was voted as the head of the financial affairs committee, and within that position, I worked under Lucas Weldon, who’s the current VP of financial affairs. I learned a lot from him and saw how much passion and dedication he had and all the work he did in this role. So, I was immediately passionate about running for the same one.
Q: What are the key parts of your platform?
A: I have three main platform points, which is transparency, career readiness and financial wellness. Within each of those three, I have a couple initiatives. For transparency, I want to have a position where the student body can request meetings with any VP or any persons of the Executive Council. I also want to publish the financial affairs funding for the FAC, which is the committee I’m the head of, where we give money to student organizations. I want to have a public database so students can view that and see how we’re helping different organizations on campus.
For career readiness, I want to have an alumni panel, and I want to show off the Culverhouse Connections website — which a lot of people don’t know about about, but it’s an alumni database — and I want to utilize that to have an alumni panel so people can talk about their careers, and students can decide what they want to go into. I also want to have publications by working with each department to make sure students know the steps they need to become ready for their career/career trajectory.
And finally, with financial wellness I want to do what Lucas Weldon was doing with the financial seminars, but I also want to gather publications and findings of my own and have them listed on the SGA website for students easily to find and access them.
Q: What are two specific initiatives you want to accomplish in this position, and what time frames you will accomplish them in?
A: The two specific initiatives I’m most excited for would be the alumni panel and the financial wellness speaker series. The time frames for the alumni panel would be my second semester in this role. The financial wellness seminar could be essentially as soon as we get started next year for school. I already have a few guest speakers that are professors lined up. With the alumni panel, it may take a little bit more time, just the fact that the alumni are traveling here.
Q: Your position this year is uncontested. Knowing this, how will student voters be able to hold you to your campaign promises?
A: Although it’s not ideal that I’m uncontested, it doesn’t change my passions. I was elected to be a senator, and I think in that role, I did the best of my ability and did everything I claimed to do more, and in this position, I plan to do that as well.
Q: Some student affinity groups have said they’re unsure if they can still receive funding from the FAC after SB129 passed. How will you work to inform and support student organizations most affected by changes to student organization funding so that they’ll better understand how to apply?
A: The 113th administration, as well as the University, has done a great job handling this. I think it’s something to definitely look into going further. I’m definitely gonna make sure I talk with the 113th administration as well, as well as the future people in my cabinet, as well as talk to the faculty and the University to see what can be handled. And once we figure out everything we can do, I’d love to meet with each student personally. I wouldn’t have a problem with meeting with individuals and talking and having conversations about the possibilities.
Q: You brought up the creation of a series of free financial literacy sessions for all students through the SGA. How does this differ from the resources available from the University Department of Finance that all students can already access?
A: There’s different resources and there are abundant resources, but I don’t think doing something twice is bad. Lucas Weldon had a similar thing last year, but financial wellness never really goes away. So, if we just keep hammering it and give students even more opportunities, I think that’s beneficial in every way.
Q: As part of your campaign’s focus on transparency, you proposed “giving students the option to request a meeting with any member of the Executive Council.” How will this be different from the designated office hour each Executive Council member is already required to have?
A: It technically could be the same thing. However, a formalized meeting would be better in my mind so that each party could show up prepared about what they’re going to discuss within office hours. You’re kind of just showing up and sitting down and talking about it. However, if a student has a specific question or concern or something in mind, they can do their research, the executive member can do their research and come together and put their heads together and figure out a solution.
Q: What’s one last thing you want voters to know about you?
A: I want voters to know how dedicated I am to helping the student body, not only with preparing for a career, which I think is the most important thing that the University can help them with, but also knowing how to manage their money. That’s gonna be very impactful for the rest of their lives. And I’m very, very excited to see what I can accomplish in the role and I want students to remember to Capitalize with Conner Feb. 25 on myBama, 7:00 to 7:00.
