Featured Image: (Pacer Graphic / Dylan Sulcer)

On Monday, March 30, 2026, UT Martin’s Student Government Association (SGA) held its annual candidate debate for the elections being held on April 7.

The two parties being represented were Captain’s Council, represented by presidential candidate Ella Self and vice presidential candidate Bailey Parker, and Skyhawk Synergies, represented by presidential candidate Chayil Waktins. Captain’s Council is campaigning on the motto, “Elevate, Empower, Engage.” Skyhawk Synergies’ motto is, “Lead, Lift, and Unite.”

Both parties prioritize the importance of getting students involved and engaged with not only SGA, but with the campus community as a whole while also building more transparency and trust between the administration and the student body. 

Captain’s Council cited students’ biggest concern as housing and the lack of information students have felt like they have received.

“(VP candidate) Bailey Parker has been working in her current position as president to organize open forums with housing and opportunities for students to ask questions about the changes to both Ryan Martin and Dr. Freeman at the SGA open house,” said Self. 

Skyhawk Synergies highlighted the disconnect between SGA and the student body as a whole.

“A lot of students do not know what SGA is about, how to get involved or how it directly impacts them,” said Watkins.

Skyhawk Synergies plans to get students more involved by having regularly scheduled student updates, along with having more office hours and being as visible to the campus as possible. They also plan to set up feedback systems to best help control and identify the areas that need improvement. 

Captain’s Council committed itself to regular check-ins with both students and faculty members, along with establishing the importance of the SGA feedback box around campus. The party also mentioned tangible goals such as working with faculty to move spring break up to an earlier date during the semester, cutting down the cost of online classes and extending fall break by two days. 

Both parties covered the topic of non-traditional students and finding ways to get them more involved in campus culture. Captain’s Council mentioned working with different offices around campus to highlight points of interest, along with key ideas shared by these groups. Skyhawk Synergies explained that these students must be met halfway, creating spaces and areas for those students to attend events during times that work for them and ensuring the value of the events themselves. 

As the SGA budget is constantly changing, both parties also explained the importance of making sure that they are able to get the most out of every event they are spending funds on. 

Being elected into office is only a small part of the battle, but using time wisely and getting things done in a timely manner is another hill to climb.

“If elected into office, I expect my first few weeks to be full of meetings with faculty to start work immediately on our campaign goals. In addition to this, I expect to plan meetings with student leaders from different organizations on campus to ask for feedback and collaboration on events throughout the year,” said Self when asked what she expected her first few weeks in office to look like.

Watkins reflected the same sentiment by talking about the idea of creating forums and surveys to allow students to voice their opinions on SGA, along with creating a shoutout system to recognize students for their many accomplishments. He went on to explain that this is a lot easier said than done, and he outlined the challenges he would expect to face if elected.

“I think the biggest challenge will be making sure that students feel connected to SGA and feel like their voices are not only being heard, but being acted on,” said Watkins.

Both presidential candidates gave their ideas of what they want the campus to look like after their terms would be over.

“I hope to leave UT Martin better than I found it,” said Self. “I want to continue to maintain our reputation as the “Campus that Cares” as enrollment grows, and I want to work hard to improve student life through the changes with reduced online course fees and adjusted semester breaks.”

Watkins emphasized the importance of students being able to speak and knowing that they are being listened to by someone who cares.

“I would like the campus to be more connected across all different platforms, but mainly when it comes to more student orgs partnering to bring bigger and better events for our student population, as well as the campus feeling like they can go to SGA with an issue that they may be having and feel like there will be steps to solving said issue,” said Watkins.