If elected Government of the Student Body president and vice president, Matt Craft and Garrett Toay said they will aim to reach out to the students to get them involved in what happens on campus, particularly in GSB.

“Right now, GSB is just seen as a way of funding for different student groups, but there are more aspects of GSB than just that,” said Toay, junior in agricultural business.

Toay said he and Craft, junior in political science, will try a variety of methods to increase awareness and get more student input, such as attending constituency council meetings.

“It will give students a chance to see who is representing them, and it will also make us more accessible to students,” Craft said.

Craft currently is president of the Richardson Court Association. He was involved in GSB last year as RCA senator and has been on the GSB finance committee for the past two years. He was a resident assistant in RCA last year and also helped raise funds and put on the Jimmy V Shoot-out last spring.

Toay was introduced to activities on campus through the Agricultural Business Club. Like Craft, he has been on the GSB finance committee for two years. He is a member of Theta Delta Chi fraternity and currently is serving as GSB Interfraternity Council senator. He also is vice president of operations for IFC.

Toay said he and Craft have several ideas to get students involved, including a call-in radio show on Iowa State’s student-run radio station KURE 88.5 FM, setting up a town forum-type meeting and expanding the GSB Web page.

“We want to make sure students know what’s going on with GSB,” Toay said. “When we are on the air, people can call in and discuss topics of importance. We might also pull in senators and members of the cabinet so students can ask them questions, too. The same goes for the town forum meeting and the Web page.”

Craft said another issue he and Toay plan to tackle is the rising cost of tuition.

“There is a strong possibility that tuition will go up again in the year 2000,” Craft said. “We would like to start lobbying early so we can express the financial strain rising tuition costs have on students.”

Toay said he and Craft plan to lobby the Board of Regents.

“We are thinking of starting very early and lobbying the Board of Regents office so we can have [the proposal] considered before it gets to the Board of Regents,” he said.

Craft said the duo also plans to address diversity on campus by first re-creating the director of minority student affairs GSB cabinet position.

“The position would work with the senators, international students, [Black Student Alliance] and other minority groups to see that they have a stronger voice on campus,” he said.

Craft said he and Toay also advocate plans to work with the university on a multicultural center.

“It won’t be built by the time we leave office, but if we can get the site picked out and the ball rolling, it will definitely be a significant thing that future administrations can follow through with,” Craft said.

Craft said he and Toay decided to run for the executive positions together to provide a greater voice to the students.

“When I asked Garrett to run, I wanted someone with senate experience who would be capable of doing the job and who fit my style but would still be able to keep me in check and disagree with me if necessary,” he said.

Toay said their backgrounds also were part of their decision.

“We decided that the combination of someone from the residence hall system and greek system was a good way for everyone to get a voice on campus,” he said.

If elected, Craft said many of the issues he and Toay tackle will be determined by the students.

“We want to be accessible to students so they can tell us what they want to see accomplished and what they want to see done,” he said.