From breaking down racial stereotypes in a column published by the Huffington Post, to publicly admitting to being backed by “The Machine,” Jared Hunter has diverged from social and political norms and set new precedents as a Student Government Association presidential candidate. Hunter, a man self-described as a “walking paradox,” has chosen to embrace the unconventional, rather than run from it.

As his freshman year came to a close, Hunter thought the best case scenario for his college political career would be a run at an SGA senator position. He never dreamed that as a junior, he would be running in an extremely contentious race for the highest position in student government.

Hunter’s first year at The University of Alabama gave him his first true taste of rejection. Wanting to get involved in campus politics, he had applied to First Year Council and the Blackburn Institute. He was rejected by both organizations. Interested in Greek life, Hunter rushed multiple fraternities, only to be denied a single bid. For Hunter, experiencing life as a small fish in a big pond turned out to be the wake-up call that jump-started his collegiate success and later contributed to his desire to run for SGA president.

“It was definitely an eye-opening experience,” Hunter said, “but I just kept my head down and kept working because I knew that I was going to apply a second time. I knew that I had the potential to accomplish big things.”

Hunter’s newfound vigor and commitment to persistence paid dividends in his sophomore year. He increased his involvement on campus, accomplished several of his major college goals and shattered racial barriers along the way.

He was accepted as a member of the Blackburn Institute after reapplying, secured a teacher’s aide position for a class on social responsibility and continued his involvement as an active member of the Canterbury Episcopal youth group. Hunter made history by becoming the first African American member of the Theta Chi fraternity at The University of Alabama. By being the first African American in Theta Chi, Hunter opened the door for more racially diverse members to be accepted into the fraternity.

“On top of being the first Black student in Theta Chi, this year we had two new Black students join,” Hunter said. “Hopefully, with time, we’ll see a greater representation of racial membership.”

One of those new African-American members accredits Hunter’s article, “Yes, You Can Be Black And Wear Sperrys,” which was published in the Huffington Post Hunter’s sophomore year, for helping convince him to attend The University of Alabama and try Greek life.

Hunter wrote the article after experiencing several instances of what he called racial stereotyping, in which he was insulted for dressing and talking “white.” In his article, Hunter defended Black individuality and attacked the societal idea that African-Americans must dress and behave a certain way to be accepted by their own culture. Rather than allowing his bad experience affect his identity, Hunter used it to show others that they should never bend to stereotypes.

Like his college career, Hunter’s SGA presidential campaign has been anything but straightforward. In fact, both have been marred by obstacles and complications.

On Feb. 28, Hunter was found to have violated two major ethics violations, as well as one intermediate one due to a bar tab at his campaign kickoff party. His campaign was suspended until the following Monday for the violations, but that was changed to until Saturday following his appeal of the decision.

Controversy has also surrounded his “I’m Ready” campaign video which some say seems to have been plagiarized from a Cintas commercial.

The one norm that Hunter has maintained during his SGA presidential campaign is his affinity for breaking those stereotypes. In a bold and unprecedented political move, Hunter published a column in The Crimson White in which he became the first SGA candidate in recent memory to admit to being backed by Theta Nu Epsilon.

Known more commonly as “The Machine,” Theta Nu Epsilon is an underground student organization with a long, dark history full of violent racial incidents. Immediately after Hunter’s article was published, backlash from students and online bloggers alike ensued. Many people chastised Hunter for his article, viewing it as an attempt to appear courageous or to gain sympathy from voters. For Hunter, however, his decision to publicly announce that he was backed by “The Machine” was fueled by a desire for a transparent campaign.

“I wrote that article not asking for any sort of sympathy or for students to say I’m being brave,” Hunter stated. “I wrote the article to be transparent and up front, so that when I’m asked if I’m backed by The Machine I can give students an honest answer, and won’t be lying to their face.”

However, Hunter says not all of the feedback he received from the article was negative.

“There are a lot of people on both sides who were very pleased, or at least glad that I broke the ice and said it,” Hunter said. “It was something that needed to happen. Regardless of what people want to say about me, it’s what they haven’t been able to say about any other candidate previously, and I feel like that’s worth something.”

While Hunter acknowledges that he is backed by “The Machine,” he asserts that his campaign and his policies are his own and that they have not been forged by the mysterious organization composed of Greek students, but by the various experiences he has had at The University of Alabama.

“My ideas are my own, my campaign staff was one that I put together myself,” Hunter said. “The Machine has declared their support for me and that has been the extent of it. Everything else has been up to me and that’s how I want it.”

Hunter said that he formed his campaign platform by choosing issues he thinks will reflect the entire student body, not just a select portion.

“Having different voices represented on my campaign staff has helped me create a platform that I think will work well for all students at the University,” Hunter said. “… I have people helping me from different departments and parts of campus.”

Among Hunter’s chief concerns is sexual assault prevention, rather than just sexual assault awareness. He plans on implementing the University Assault Services Knowledge app. The UASK app hopes to cut down on sexual assault by allowing users to set a timer for the app to check in on them and ensure their safety. If the app does not hear back from the user, it can be set to alert a friend, parent or authority of the user’s lack of response.

Another one of Hunter’s key platform points is improving the game day experience by working with University of Alabama officials to allow free refills on souvenir cups in Bryant-Denny stadium. Hunter also wants to improve the SOURCE, an organization responsible for recognizing student clubs, by cutting down the amount of paper work required to register a club and hopes to expand the number of off-campus restaurants that accept dining dollars from two to five by Spring 2018.

“Jared has crafted his platform to include all students,” Caitlin Cobb, a junior political science major and Hunter’s campaign manager, said. “Dining dollars affects all students and we want to make the game day experience better for everyone. A lot of groups feel under-represented on campus and the University of Alabama needs a leader who can help the SGA lift those students up.”

Despite the ups and downs of the campaign, Hunter has remained motivated and calm, which he attributes to a saying he and his mom adopted from an old church marquee that they used to pass nearly every day in his hometown of Wetumpka, Alabama.

“One time they put a saying up that was super cheesy but surprisingly accurate,” Hunter said. “It read, ‘People are like teabags; you have to put them in hot water to see how strong they are.’ I think this past week has been my hot water moment and at the end of the day, I’ll get through this by running the same transparent, ethical campaign that I’ve wanted to run since I announced my candidacy.”