“Reform What Exists,” is one of the mantras of Activate TU. They discuss how being more approachable and visible on campus as well as raising awareness of sexual violence for assault prevention are tangible ways to improve TSG. They also wish to further inclusivity at Temple and in the surrounding Philadelphia community.
Tyrell Mann-Barnes, the Presidential candidate, Kayla Martin, running for Vice President of Services, and Paige Hill, running for the Vice President of External Affairs, are the trio of Activate TU. Mann-Barnes and Martin have both served on TSG this past year, but Hill is new to the realm.
Mann-Barnes is the current vice president of SAASA, Student Activists Against Sexual Assault. This club recently hosted the Walk TU, and a large amount of students walked supporting SAASA’s initiative to raise awareness against sexual violence. The night before the walk, Mann-Barnes planned a panel for students to hear about the available resources on campus for sexual assault victims and have the opportunity to ask questions.
Kayla Martin is the President of the National Black Law Students Association, and Paige Hill is a part of “Honorables of Color.” Martin says, “We want to make sure that we are consistently present. And I think that a great benefit of that, is that a lot of us have been present in other ways before Temple Student Government. We don’t plan to leave those organizations, and we don’t plan to neglect those spaces.”
They are determined to bridge the Philadelphia community with Temple University. They desire to create an alternative spring break that would educate students about Philadelphia’s rich history and cause a deeper appreciation for the city. They also want to reinstate the Bridge program that connects local high school students to the university.
Their stance against the on-campus football stadium is entirely dependent upon its negative impact towards the community. Hill says, “We really want to be vocal about making sure that this stadium does not displace arguably, the thousands of people that it could affect in the North Philadelphia community.”
Activate TU’s platform addresses several other points and can be found here. Their busy campaign season covered a wide breadth of places including a visit to Free Food Fun Fridays, the Queer Student Union, Freely Magazine’s Launch event, and much more. Vote on April 4th and April 5th.
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