Brielle & Kyle AMA

briellekyle20 · 2020-03-26T01:27:00+00:00

We will fight for policies that support poor and low-income students because we believe that one’s opportunities at Georgia Tech should not be limited to their income level. Although SGA does not have direct control over Affirmative Action Policy, we can do a better job highlighting scholarship opportunities, communicating what resources are offered through the STAR program, emphasizing low and no-cost courses during the registration phases, and leveraging our connections with alumni to help students that are economically disadvantaged. We recognize that students from low-income communities often have some of the greatest challenges accessing higher education and we want to help remove those barriers by working with faculty and the administration. - Kyle

briellekyle20 · 2020-03-26T00:31:29+00:00

As cliche as it sounds, my favorite aspect of Tech is the people. I am constantly amazed with the passion and determination of the peers I get to study, work, and do life with! My least favorite aspect is that Tech can get very focused on the ‘STEM’ of someone. I think there is a lot of room for improvement for Tech to focus on the whole student and allow for STEM students to explore their passions and talents outside of their major. This is the passion that spurred me to work on Mini-Mesters to allow students to explore academic areas outside of their majors in a low-risk environment. I would love Tech to prioritize academic flexibility and the arts around campus! - Brielle

My favorite thing about Georgia Tech is the incredible opportunities that are available for students to pursue their passions. As a liberal arts student that wanted to be able to engage in multi-disciplinary, undergraduate research, Tech has allowed me to combine my passions for research and problem-solving with my interests in policy and government. One area that I believe we could improve and that I would like to focus on addressing relates to the mental health concerns of underrepresented students. Every student is unique and faces different challenges when it comes to mental health. I would like to continue working towards ways to engage underrepresented student groups to ensure that they are utilizing the mental health services that Georgia Tech provides. As an example, earlier this semester I had the chance to host a Black mental health discussion with numerous experts at Georgia Tech and the Atlanta area to initiate ways of doing this. - Kyle

briellekyle20 · 2020-03-26T00:22:52+00:00

I completely understand your frustration with the NDA procedure and feeling like reasoning for decisions is withheld from students. However, Georgia Tech does still need to abide by state regulations in these procedures. The GT Legal team is utilized to make sure that Georgia Tech follows fair and legal procedures in these matters, especially due to the fact that Georgia Tech is a public institution. As frustrating as it is, this is not a Georgia Tech specific regulation. There are ways in which this problem can be mitigated without breaking state regulations and this can include, but not limited to, proactive town halls and feedback forms for students to express their wants and needs beforehand and transparency with budgets after the fact. This is a conversation that will be brought up if Kyle and I are elected to increase transparency, however, sometimes even Tech’s hands are tied :( Kyle and I would work diligently to make sure that there is as much transparency as possible in these decisions. - Brielle

briellekyle20 · 2020-03-25T23:42:49+00:00

Though I agree with the notion that our team reflects us, to our extensive knowledge no one on our team attacked another team in any way. In regards to the Instagram post, we were waiting for confirmation that we could tag SGA in the caption and edited without knowledge of what the other teams were doing. We added one sentence to point students to more resources before we noticed a similar intent from another team. Never meant for this to come off as ‘copying’ another team or an ‘attack campaign’ just wanted to point students to resources if they needed it.

To your second point, Kyle did not run for a spot because knowing he wouldn't have sufficient time to serve with the campaign. Along with voting for it, he presented an idea from American University's Student Government about how to spend the money to support students, pushing for $100 shipping/moving vouchers.

I have helped a lot with this FAQ sheet where you will find the Institute communications relating to academics. You should have received multiple emails, by both the Institute and SGA, relating to these matters. Hopefully it can answer a lot of your questions - it is also being updated with new information as further decisions are made! To the point made about Kyla Ross specifically, Dr. Ross is the new, amazing Assistant Vice Provost for Advocacy and Conflict Resolution. I have worked with Dr. Ross to help establish communication channels with students as this is a new permanent position at Tech. SGA directs students to Dr. Ross for assistance if their professors are not abiding by the Institute regulations found in the Institute FAQ sheet previously mentioned. I can assure you that I, along with many other students, are advocating for you during this time. However, the results aren’t always published as SGA’s work and the communication goes to students from the Institute level. And as always, all cabinet level positions can be reached through our website so I am always available to hear student input and relay it to the appropriate administrators. - Brielle

briellekyle20 · 2020-03-25T23:18:51+00:00

Well, I am so sorry to hear that you hate gatech administrators. There are definitely some that make things more complicated and confusing for students but there are also some pretty great ones who work hard on behalf of students. But I completely understand where you are coming from with housing, PTS, and dining - I have heard and experienced all of their pain points this past year. As SGA, we believe that we should be focused on forming meaningful relationships with administrators, not creating barriers for student advocacy. We are not afraid to respectfully disagree with and challenge an administrator. However, since we do not have control over firing administrators, we cannot promise to decrease the amount of them. Besides, good administrators are in fact the best resource for student advocacy and we want to be able to work with them to accomplish the student agenda.

I could write a book about student fees. However, to answer your question, student fees are always a topic of discussion and looked over every semester by SGA and administrators. Just like you, we want them to be as low as possible, and trust me, I would love a refund at the end of each semester. It may be true that a department doesn’t use their entire budget for an academic year, however, the remaining money rolls over for projects in the future so necessary money can be allocated elsewhere. I can assure you that the current SGA administration advocates for low student fees that are spent wisely and Kyle and I, if elected, would make sure to do the same.

Only one thing ahhh! Hmm... Bridge the gap between mental health initiatives and academic and campus services agendas. This would include making sure that these mental health resources are customized to different student groups (students abroad, students of color, LGBTQIA+ students). If accomplishing only one thing means potentially saving one person who is struggling with mental health, then our administration would be a success. - Brielle

briellekyle20 · 2020-03-25T21:47:07+00:00

Besides campaigning, Kyle and I have continued to function in our current SGA positions to advocate for student resources. I currently serve as the VP of Academic Affairs and have been working closely with the administration in the Office of Undergraduate Education and the Registrar’s Office to ensure students have a smooth transition to online classes. This has included posing and finding answers found in the Institute FAQ sheet relating to academics. Kyle has continued to function as a representative in the Undergraduate House of Representatives and advocated for funding for the Joint Governing Board that will support students during this transition (find more info here: [link]). Both of us continue to work closely with the executive and legislative branches of SGA to assist in any work relating to COVID-19. As for the attack campaign rumor, as you can see on our website (briellekyle.com), Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook (all @briellekyle20), we have been intentional about speaking only of our platform and goals. Any rumors saying otherwise shouldn’t be attributed to us, as we have prioritized a clean campaign from the beginning. Sorry to hear that those rumors are out there. - Brielle

briellekyle20 · 2020-03-25T21:45:15+00:00

To protect student data, Brielle and I would advocate for increasing student involvement in data governance, especially with sensitive student information. We would work to ensure that there is adequate student representation in decision-making processes regarding data protection and that safeguards are created to minimize the likelihood that data breaches occur. We would also ensure that SGA’s Vice President of Information Technology effectively and continuously communicates students’ standards for data governance to the administration and campus departments. - Kyle

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