Candidate Q&A: Femi Jekayinfa

What follows is a partial transcription of an interview The Daily Cougar conducted with SGA presidential candidate, Femi Jekayinfa. Each of the SGA presidential candidates will be featured in our “Candidate Q&A” series this week.

The Daily Cougar: What are three things voters should know about you?

Femi Jekayinfa: One thing is that I am a regular student. I feel like at the end of the day, the value of my degree and the external perception of my degree matters above most other things.

I want to make it to where anyone on the outside looking in will value me because I went to UH.

TDC: So, that extends to other UH students’ degrees too?

FJ: Yes. I mean everyone’s degree.

Also, growing up I always believed that if you want something done right, you should do it yourself. I feel like there’s a lot of things about the University — simple, little things — that need to be changed — a lot of things that inconvenience people. Those things bother me, and there is something I can do about it.

Also, I lived in Moody Towers last semester, and anyone that lives there knows that there’s a lot of stupid things that they do to us that they shouldn’t. And there’s a lot of stuff wrong with just the way everything’s set up, and I had to experience that, so I understand firsthand — I’m not just going to be changing things because I was told by a student or because I need to do that to get votes. It’s because I live here, and I have to deal with all the stuff they do and I understand it and it bothers me — that’s why it needs to be changed.

TDC: What do you think is one of the most important things SGA has done since the summer?

FJ: I’d say the student service fee referendum.

I agree with it … and I did vote yes for it, but I do not agree with the way that it was implemented.

I believe that a lot of people were pressured into voting just because I remember during the two days to vote, I think I was asked if I voted about 20-plus times.

You can’t just sit right next to the polling stations and pressure people to come vote.

TDC: So, as president how would you respond to the way that they conducted the referendum to make sure it doesn’t happen again?

FJ: Even though most people agreed with having the stadium, it’s a democracy. We need still need to have people be able to freely choose what they want to do. ,

I’d just say the next time there definitely needs to be more oversight on who’s saying what to who and where, and the way they push the referendum needs to be revised because I feel like they did it wrong this time.

TDC: What is something you think SGA can improve on?

FJ: I’d say just being involved because the SGA does handle a lot of the things that need to be handled, but nobody knows what it is. I mean, that’s kind of bad if we’re the ones that are supposed to be deciding everything that happens and helping students get what they want to get out of the University.

TDC: How do you think — as president — you would make SGA more visible or more known on campus?

FJ: I talk people’s ears off. Even right now, I’ll go up and talk to anybody and I’ll go around and ask people, literally with a notebook, “What do you think is wrong? Do you have any suggestions? Does anything need to be changed?”

I’ll have a suggestion box. I want to set up something where anybody with complaints can write something on paper anonymously or if they want to leave their name on it, and they can drop it in a box and then the SGA staff and everyone involved could look over it and see if there’s things that need to be changed.

TDC: How would you deal with real problems that students face, like parking or safety — it doesn’t have to be those two — but whatever you think is a problem, and how would you deal with it?

FJ: Right now, I feel like the biggest problem is parking.

If you have a one-third chance of getting a parking spot, then there is no reason that you should be fined for parking in the wrong spot or making your own spot — you had to make your own spot because they don’t have enough.

So, if the University doesn’t do what it needs to do to give us enough parking spots, then they shouldn’t fine us for not parking in the right spots.

And then also, there needs to be something done about the teacher’s academic policies that says they’re not going to let students in after a certain time.

It’s almost like we’re having to suffer for the problems the University put on us.

TDC: What makes you stand out from other candidates?

FJ: I think I’m different from the other candidates because I’m a regular student. I’m not in SGA already. I don’t have any type of political, ulterior motive for running for president.

All I want to do is change the stuff that bothers me because it bothers me. That’s really it.

TDC: Why do you want to be SGA president?

FJ:  I want to be president because I am very interested in the value of my degree and the external perception of the University as a whole.

I feel like when I become president, I want to do things that will ultimately increase the value of our degrees and improve the external perception of our institution.

For more information on this and other candidates, go to thedailycougar.com/tags/sga2012.