The Daily Gamecock: What experience makes you qualified for this office?
Lee Goble: I would say that my experience as vice president of course has very much qualified me for the office of student body president ... And I recognize some of the battles you have to go against and some of the minor details you have to really think about that you may not know coming in. And I also, from being able to serve as an executive officer this year, I have had the opportunity to really meet other people and really learn the process you go through to get things done and whatnot. I also think that I've met plenty of administrators and other campus officials that I've made great connections with, and it would be easy for me to step into the role as vice president. And of course I will also say that I'm the only one that has as much experience. No other candidate has as much experience as I do. And I campaigned last year as vice president, and I said I wanted to do three things, and I'm the only person who can say that I've campaigned on something and I kept my promise.
TDG: If you could accomplish one thing during your term, what would it be?
LG: I would say that my big thing I've campaigned on is the Hall of Leaders, so I would really love to have the opportunity to get that off the ground running and have those students meet, because I really think that if we get those people, those representatives, in the room of the majority of the student body, then I feel that we will have the opportunity to have a more informed and a better represented student body. And I feel that that's what Student Government is all about. So if I can do one thing better, it is to represent the student body in the most efficient and effective manner.
TDG: What inspired you to run for the job?
LG: My time as vice president, I really enjoyed it. And I don't say that I enjoyed all of the duties that came along with it, like legislation, weekly stuff like that. That's not what I enjoyed. I enjoyed the representing part in the meeting on behalf of the students and getting to talk to students ... And it's been a humbling experience, it really has. I may be vice president, but at the same time, I'm just a student, and the thing that inspired me through that is just the service aspect. I think that it's just a bigger step in the level of service and the amount that you can give back to the student body ... One of the things that really sealed the deal on me running was I was standing in the humanities building on the first floor, waiting for the elevator ... And the elevator opened up ... and the elevator was about four inches higher than the actual ground, and there was a girl beside of me and she was in a wheelchair. And she says, "This is the fourth day I can't get to class because of this elevator." And that's pathetic. That is truly pathetic. There's no other word for it. We can't even get our students to class, and we're a college ... We've got a student union that was built for a much smaller population size than what we have now ... Our students can't even come through during a class change and grab a bite to eat because our facilities are so terrible. So the thing that inspired me is that, as president, you have the opportunity to kind of help administration focus, and I think that one of the things I'd like to do, or I know one of the things I'd like to do, is really refocus the administration on the fact that whenever they make these decisions, on what buildings to build next, we really need to focus on how it benefits the whole student body, not just one select population, because we're here to service everybody ... It's just we deserve better is what I think it boils down to. We deserve a hell of a lot better as the students at the university, and we're not getting it.
TDG: What food do you think embodies your personality, and why?
LG: I feel like I'm supposed to have this philosophical answer, and I'm not coming to it ... You really can't beat a good sandwich ... Just a sandwich with meat and bread and maybe some cheese, whatever else you want on it. There's a lot you can put on it and a lot that makes it up, but at the end of the day, it's really just a sandwich. It's really just plain, but everybody likes it ... And that's me. I've got a lot, a lot makes me, but at the end of the day, still just Lee Goble.