The Announcement / Why I Decided to Run

The decision to run for SGA President was not a decision I took lightly. It took a lot of soul searching, thought, and prayer, and figuring out how I would even attempt to do something so big. Yes, it had always been a dream of mine to run, but how would I accomplish it? People were already getting teams ready, forming ideas, platforms, and I was still wondering what was the perfect decision for me. Running for President meant possibly dropping organizations I care deeply about and putting all of my time into one organization, and taking a back seat in the organizations I would stay a part of. Was I willing to give all of that up? I decided that answer after literally taking all of winter break to decide if I would run for SGA President. I decided to run! I decided to tell my friend, and President of the Multicultural Mentoring Program TJ Broady I was running for President. This is when I knew I was running and had made the right decision, when TJ stated "I can look at you and tell by the way you told me you were running, and by your demeanor that you made the right decision." Those words of affirmation were the final straws for me and I realized then and there I had made the right decision.

Although planning and acquiring running mates did not go as planned over the past three months of gearing up for this campaign season I still feel confident in my team, myself, and my abilities. I have a great team behind me helping me along the way, and I would run through a brick wall for anyone of them, because they have put their confidence in me to become the next SGA President, and for that words could never express my gratitude towards them. I also want to show everyone that anything is possible on this campus. It does not take a party to win SGA, you can run independently, be the change you want to see here on campus. The first thing you must do is believe in yourself, and I have reached a full belief in myself that I am extremely qualified to be your next SGA President. I have been involved and dedicated my time to organizations across the spectrum here at Tennessee. At some points in my collegiate career you would have thought I was majoring in organizations rather than my actual major.

With the help of wonderful people like Willie Kemp, Jalen Blue, and Christopher Smith I have been able to build strong relationships with not only faculty and staff, but upper administration as well to actually get things done and make sure that the student voice is heard loud and clear by everyone, not only here on campus, but by stakeholders across Tennessee, and the world. I have also built friendships with leaders all across campus to put into place plans of action to unify campus, not only inside Neyland Stadium or Thompson-Boling Arena but outside of these sports venues as well.

We are One UT, at least we should be. That is the main reason I decided to run. I want to help be a moving force to lay a solid foundation to bring campus together not just for the students who are here, but for the future Volunteers who will come here. As SGA President, I want to lay a solid foundation for generations of students to come and build off of and reach heights we cannot dream of at this moment, see and accomplish things we cannot imagine right now. That to me is what being President is all about, accomplishing milestones in key areas such as diversity and inclusion, sustainability, academics, and more, not just as a one year fix, but laying a foundation for generations to stand on and continue to make The University of Tennessee-Knoxville the best University it can become. On this campaign trail I look forward to meeting every constituent possible and learning not only about what you want to see from SGA and UT, but learning about you as a person as well. I am Antonio Marcellus Butler, and I am running to become your next Student Government Association President.

Contact:

abutle24@vols.utk.edu

615-967-7436