Nearly 100 individuals attended the SAU Student Government Association’s (SGA) Political Awareness Forum held in the MLK Ballroom. Moderated by Octavia Rainey, host of Straight Talk, and Ashley Nelson, president of SGA, the forum provided a platform for SAU students, faculty, staff and the community an opportunity to hear first-hand from candidates on various issues from the voter ID laws to the rising cost of tuition. Other concerns raised by a group of panelists, which consisted of SAU students and a SAU professor, included the SAU’s athletic stadium, the restoration of the St. Agnes Hospital and the revitalization of businesses near the campus. The panelists included Dr. Zaphon R. Wilson, dean of the School of Social Sciences; Kamayha Jabari, vice president of SGA; Robert Gray, SGA’s chair of Community Outreach; and Colliet Bramwell, SGA’s executive secretary. Members in the audience sat attentively and were extremely engaged. One attendee stated “the forum was very much needed.”

The candidates that participated in the forum included mayoral candidates Venita Peyton and Robert Lewis Weltzin. The city council candidates included Brian Fitzsimmons, Raleigh City Council District B; Russell Stephenson, Raleigh City Council District A; Eugene Weeks, Raleigh City Council District C; Racquel Williams, Raleigh City Council District C; Jim Kemp Sherron IV, Raleigh City Council District D; and John H. Odom, Raleigh City Council District B.