Southern University, Baton Rouge SGA president, (third from left) listens during a group session of College Convention 2008. SGA vice president Channing Blake was also a delegate to the convention.

SU leaders help bring state platform to presidential candidates

Student leaders from Southern University, Baton Rouge were a part of a Louisiana delegation that got a taste of presidential politics while also providing voice to a host of issues and problems facing the state.

"COSBP's [Council of Student Body Presidents] expectation while attending College Convention 2008 is to make progress for higher education in Louisiana," said COSBP president Carey Ash, who also serves as SGA president at Southern University. SGA vice president Channing Blake was the other SU member of the student delegation. Shanna Estay Little, senior coordinator for institutional research, assessment, and student initiatives, SU System, was a part of the staff/faculty delegation.

"Oftentimes, when Louisiana is not a battleground state in presidential elections, our issues, our goals, and our values are overlooked," Ash said. "The College Convention will provide the Council with an opportunity to directly challenge the thoughts and platforms of the candidates for president and exchange ideas on how we can move Louisiana forward, together."

Members of the COSBP took part in the four-day event in Manchester, New Hampshire, that gave students from across the country a unique opportunity to hear from most of the candidates vying to become the next president of the United States.

Louisiana Commissioner of Higher Education Joseph Savoie made a presentation at the convention which he called "a once-in-a lifetime opportunity for these Louisiana student leaders, as a group, to be directly involved in the national political process."

"I'm looking forward both to the opportunity to share this experience with our student body leaders and to participating in the dialogue," Savoie said prior to the event.

Little emphasized that Louisiana provided not just a voice in the crowd, but powerful leadership and a chorus for change and recovery. "Carey, Channing and the entire Louisiana delegation left a lasting impression on the candidates and their fellow student leaders," she said. "I was very proud to be a part of this push to bring our state's recovery and growth to the forefront."