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Chast, Croghan seek to assess campus funding |
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Thursday, 20 March 2008 |
 Presidential candidate and junior journalism and communication major Eric R. Chast and vice presidential candidate and junior electronic media broadcasting major Brendan P. Croghan are running for SGA on their platform “Be Heard” to improve funding for student clubs, better food service schedules, and an improved Safe Ride system. Photo by Alisha Park
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by ANNE BAKER
News Reporter
Eric R. Chast and Brendan P. Croghan, both members of Appalachian State University’s club ice hockey team, have decided to take the experience they gained from their positions on the team to the university’s Student Government Association.
Chast, candidate for SGA president, is a junior journalism major from Raleigh.
He has spent a large portion of his time at Appalachian State playing ice hockey, where he serves as the team’s current president, and has also been involved with both the Campus Resident Student Association (CRSA) and Resident Student Association (RSA).
Chast’s running mate, Croghan, is a broadcast communication major from Charlotte.
Croghan has also played on the club ice hockey team during his time at Appalachian State, and serves as vice president of marketing for Split Rail Records, the university’s student-run record label, as well as being the underwriting director for WASU-FM, Appalachian State’s radio station.
Both have attended Appalachian State since their freshman year.
It is because of their experience on the ice hockey team that they decided to run, Chast said.
He said because of low funding from the university, finding money elsewhere, usually through
fundraising, became a priority for the team.
“[Fundraising] takes people out of being a student and it’s not something that they should have to work
with. It’s something that is a problem in every club and every club sport,” Chast said.
Chast and Croghan said they have completed approximately a year and a half worth of research on
several other universities whose clubs receive the majority of their funding from the school itself or its
SGA.
Campaign Goals
• Give students the opportunity to express their opinions and be there to listen.
• Provide more funding for club sports.
• Give more emphasis to extracurricular activities and encourage student involvement outside the classroom.
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“We also know our sister institutions, on average, double the money that they give to all their clubs,”
Chast said.
Croghan said he also hopes to provide more of an emphasis on extracurricular activities that encourage
student involvement outside of the classroom.
“[Extracurricular activities] really give kids a hands-on experience to prepare them for the industry,
whichever field they end up going into,” he said.
Chast and Croghan’s campaign platform also includes improving student transportation systems, such
as the university’s safe ride service.
Both candidates agreed that the main goal of the campaign, however, is to give students the
opportunity to express their opinions and be there to listen to those opinions.
Chast said he hopes to continue adding to and supporting the fun-filled environment that attracted him
to Appalachian State in the beginning.
“I was told when we won [the first football national championship] it was a once in a lifetime
thing—that’s happened three and a half times if you count [the win over Michigan]. It’s just been a
blast since I’ve been up here,” he said.
Although other candidates have been preparing themselves for the role of SGA president and vice
president for a long period of time, we don’t want to be looked down upon as the candidates who
haven’t participated in student government, Crogham said.
“Experience can come from any different angle—we have a new one and we think it will work,” Chast
said.
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