The Daily Gamecock: What experience makes you qualified for this office?
Cory Alpert: So the big experience that I have especially with student body, is that I was the coordinator of UofSC Relief, so I was the person who was in charge of putting together all of the volunteers, volunteer movements. In our first week, we had a few thousand registered volunteers and a couple times more volunteer hours. And it still runs to this day. We'll be unveiling a new project in the next two to three weeks. It’s a continuing process. That’s my angle with community service. I’ve also coordinated voter registration drives and served as the deputy elections commissioner for Student Government.
TDG: If you could accomplish one thing during your term, what would it be?
CA: That would be getting the university and the city communicating and on better terms. Having that crossover and having that collaboration between the university and the city is something that I think can really help students and can help the city. Because obviously the two entities are not necessarily as tight as they should be, so by getting that collaboration, that means that students can have access to careers. Students can have access to all the events that happen in the city. We see a ton of events that happen all across the city that students don’t even know about and don’t go to.
TDG: What inspired you to run for the job?
CA: To me, it was really that experience of the flood relief ... To me that was inspiring, and to me that showed what the student body was willing to do to be a part of their community, and that showed what the student body could do to help each other out. And to me that says that the student body deserves big ideas and deserves leadership to help move them forward. They deserve leaders who aren’t going to sit back and who aren’t going to just take credit for things they don’t do and who are willing to put themselves forward and are willing to generate things and try to change and try to make a difference. I think this university is capable of great things and I think that’s what’s necessary. I think that’s the side of me that a lot of students got to see during flood relief and that’s a side of me that I got to see during flood relief. I got to learn a lot of really important things ... and I learned how to be a leader. I learned how to lead those sorts of teams ... I learned that this community deserves [a great leader] and I thought I was the right person for the job.
TDG: What food do you think embodies your personality and why?
CA: I’ll say beets. It’s a little unusual one, but I’ve been on a health kick recently ... They’re just a little bit odd, but I think they go well with a lot of things. I put beets on burgers. I think they’re just unusual enough, but they go well with petty much anything.