Drinking black coffee and perched on a couch in one of the sitting rooms of the expansive and well-furnished Delta Delta Delta sorority house where she resides, Katie Thompson is, as usual, formally dressed in business attire, despite the fact that it’s 5 p.m. on a Friday.
She’s charismatic, quick to laugh and easy to talk to — a politician in every sense of the word. Discussion seems to quickly wander off topic, but it never gets too formal or awkward.
Born and raised in Lexington to two Clemson graduates, Thompson made what was, for her, a difficult decision to come to South Carolina.
Her parents tried to bribe her to be a Tiger — they said they’d buy her a car and a boat if she’d commit to USC’s upstate rival. But she turned down the offer, as well as six other schools, to be a Gamecock.
“It was just different,” Thompson said about Carolina. “The campus was unique, the mascot even more unique, and I felt like I fit in perfectly.”
And she seems to have had no problem getting involved; her resume can testify to that. A second-year marketing student minoring in political science, Thompson, SG’s current chairwoman of Safety and Transportation, has served as vice president of College Republicans, activities chair of her sorority, marketing director of USC Homecoming and Carolina Service Council site leader for this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.
As for her vice presidential platform, Thompson seems to have more ideas than she has time to explain.
She understands the initiatives students care about, such as textbooks and budgeting but has much more than that in mind for SG. She hits on topics such as safety, outreach, transparency and improving and embracing the diversity of everyone on campus.
She’s not a golden candidate, though. Thompson was the only executive candidate hit with an elections violation and was penalized 1.5 violation points for campaigning early.
Her crowning achievement in her time in Senate has been the Carolina Cab safe ride system, a replacement for the failed Cocky’s Caravan, to provide free transportation for students in a five-mile radius around campus.
She said she had worked in conjunction with Kenny Tracy, the secretary of Safety and Transportation on the initiative.
“Safety is hands-down No. 1. It is a huge, huge thing,” Thompson said, referencing the kidnapping incident that happened at the corner of Blossom and Assembly Streets a few weeks ago. “I’m excited for the safety ride to go into effect,” she added. Campaign manager Mitchell Jackson adds Thompson has a good outlook on fiscal responsibility and transparency, saying both “are going to be necessary to overcome the budget crisis that we face today.”
“The thing that makes Katie the best candidate is that she has the vision but also the experience to carry those visions through,” Jackson said. “She has a realistic outlook on how to work with the administration and student organizations [to accomplish their objectives].”
Thompson is confident in her abilities. She cited her personality and affiliation with a multitude of student organizations as reasons to vote for her.
“I give 120 percent effort and devotion to as many parts of this community as I can. I’ve established a legitimate initiative — a safe ride system to protect all Gamecocks, an accomplishment no other candidate in any race can pride themselves on. I’ve got the whole package, and, above my resume, I legitimately and intimately care about the future of this university, and I’ve got everything it takes to better it and preserve it.”
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