Temple Student Government Treasurer Ryan Feldman started hearing the speculation shortly after the fall semester began.
As the majority of TSG officers made preparations to graduate in the spring, inquiring general assembly members wanted to know if Feldman, a junior broadcasting, telecommunications and mass media major, would run for student body president.
At the time, Feldman said he had to consider what was best for TSG before providing a definitive answer to the question.
“I told everybody, ‘I’m only going to run for president next year if I feel that I am the best person for the job,'” he said.
Feldman didn’t take long to make his decision.
Calling his campaign “Building Temple Tradition,” Feldman will run on a slate with sophomore Mawata Dunbar, vice president of the Organization of African Students, and junior Paolo DeVito, president of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity.
Feldman is a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi and was the fraternity’s treasurer during the fall semester. He also is a Student Recreation Board chairman and former treasurer for the Interfraternity Council.
Dunbar, who is running for vice president of academic affairs, has known Feldman since the two attended Neshaminy High School in Langhorne, Pa.
DeVito, the vice presidential candidate for student affairs, impressed Feldman by becoming President of Tau Kappa Epsilon only one semester after he joined the fraternity. DeVito, a business major, is also the vice president of the Interfraternity Council.
Issues that the slate plans to address include improving the college experience for students, increasing communication between students and administrators, making TSG general assembly meetings more efficient and ensuring that the next university president maintains Temple’s resources.
Feldman said he has established relationships with several administrators and learned how to “deal with different personalities” during his tenure as treasurer. He said he gained valuable experience this year by spending the majority of his time in the TSG office and by observing and working alongside current President Oscar Chow.
“Students may not realize how much work Oscar puts in on a daily basis,” Feldman said, adding that dealing with internal issues is a similarity that he and Chow share.
Dunbar, a nursing major, is a peer adviser for the Office of University Studies and a member of Johnson, Hardwick and Peabody halls senate and judicial panels.
Dunbar said she wants to prevent students from taking “unnecessary classes” by making them more knowledgeable about the course selection process.
DeVito said the slate wants to start a TSG fest, an event where all student groups would have the chance to interact and promote their organization.
“Everybody will get to see what each group is about and each group will be able to showcase their talent,” DeVito said of the collaboration.
Feldman said ideas like TSG Fest are designed to make students feel a stronger connection to the university.
“By improving Homecoming, Spring Fling and alumni relations, we will build Temple tradition that will make students proud and make them want to return to campus after they graduate,” Feldman said. “And that is what it is all about.”
Tyson McCloud can be reached at tyson@temple.edu.
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