Q&A: SGA Candidate Craig McFarland

As the elections for SGA President rapidly approach, the Devil’s Advocate interviewed each candidate to gain a greater understanding of why each is running for the position.

Devil’s Advocate: Why do you want to be SGA President?

Craig McFarland: There are many reasons, but the main reasons I want to be SGA President are- ever since ninth grade I’ve been heavily involved at Stanton. I’m in more clubs than I can count. I participate in Multi. I was in 5 groups this year. I was in 3 groups last year. I’ve gotten a new family from that. I’ve been in many community clubs. I’m an officer of Artistry Club- we’re the ones who held the clean-ups this year. I have more than 100 hours. Over the summer at Stanton, I’m the one who gives the books to all the incoming freshmen. I’m the one who sets up the books. I’m the one who sets up the classes. I’m in many academic competitions where I represent Stanton. When they announce a winner from Stanton, its my team. From the social to the academic to everything else, I always represent Stanton, and through that I’ve grown a huge love for Stanton. I wish to represent Stanton even more and present my love for Stanton as SGA President. The last thing is, my sister- she’s an incoming freshman- and I always talk about how great Stanton is to her. I put Stanton on this pedestal and I want to fulfill that, not just for her but for her class and all the incoming people after.

DA: What do you plan to do as SGA President?

CM: I have many ideas but I’ll just address the main ones. What I’ve seen at Stanton is, many people drop out. Many people feel like they don’t belong at Stanton. Many people feel inadequate at Stanton. Most people have this idea that, at Stanton, if you’re not straight A’s, all 5’s, 4 point bazillion GPA, then you’re not truly a Stanton student. Kids who get straight A’s or A’s and B’s, even a GPA above a 3.5- these are amazing feats at Stanton but we don’t reward kids for that. We have the National Merit Lunch, but that excludes a lot of people from feeling accepted. I feel like even implementing something as middle school as ice cream lunches. Giving people certificates for passing an AP, which is a huge feat, but we see getting a 5 as the norm. Showing the student body that the admin cares, I believe that’s a huge thing. Another thing I really wanna do is SpringFest. Actually, in the 1960s, I saw this in the Devil’s Advocate, that we actually had SpringFest before we had WinterFest. Around this time, a lot of people have a lot of stress. There’s APs, there’s everything coming and piling together. So, having a lighthearted event like WinterFest, SpringFest would be really helpful during this time for mental health, for having everyone relax.

DA: How will you achieve your goals as SGA President?

CM: One of the things I pride myself in as a person is I’ve made connections with so many people from every single class. I’ve befriended them through my clubs and  just being friendly and saying hi and academic competitions. I made many connections. I’m connected with a wide range of people, people who are academic to people who are here for the social experience. So, I have a wide range of knowledge of what people want. By this connection I have with so many people, I will be able to truly communicate with them and with myself. Also, I’m really close with the admin. Like I said, I have over 100 hours volunteering at Stanton over the summer. It's completely run my admin. Through that I get to hear them not just as administrators but as people. I’ve grown to befriend them. When I talk to them about my problems, I feel like I can do that with the student body. I can tell them their problems, I can be this mediator.

DA: Why are you a more qualified candidate for SGA President than the others running?

CM: All of the people bring their own thing to the table. I’m the most qualified because of how heavily involved I am at Stanton. Like I said, I’ve been in many academic competitions. I’ve met a wide range of people from competing in the World Language Festival to Brain Brawl to Ethics Bowl. Through these academic competitions I’ve made a lot of connections. I’ve been heavily involved. I represent Stanton through these. I have to carry that weight each competition to show that Stanton is this force to be reckoned with, to show that it’s truly the best school in Florida. Through that, I have this weight that I’m used to already of representing Stanton. I’m a role model to many people. I’m a role model to my sister who’s coming in here. Through the connection I’ve made, I’ve become a role model through that. I have a really high class rank and people often talk about me being valedictorian. Attaining valedictorian has been a lot of hard work. It shows that I’m truly dedicated.

DA: What qualities make a good leader?

CM: Of course there are the mainstream answers such as public speaking, being able to connect well with people. But I believe the biggest quality you have as a person is the ability to sympathize. As a leader I need to be able to sympathize with all types of people. I need to be able to understand where they’re coming from., why they feel like this, and what they want to be changed. Of course, I can talk well, I can say I’m going to make these ideas, but these ideas won’t come in if I don’t sympathize with the wants of the people. I’ve been able to hear the complaints from the admin about what’s happening from always staying after school and always volunteering. As president, I can implement and centralize these ideas.

DA: What leadership experience do you have, and how would you use this leadership experience, and how will you use this experience if you are elected?

CM: I’m an officer of many clubs. I’m the Senior Vice President of La Club. I am an officer of artistry club. I was the vice president of American Sign Language Club last year. These are more like titles but I feel more like a leader for other reasons too, not just these titles. I’m an older brother. My sister is coming into Stanton. I had an older brother who wasn’t the best role model. He didn’t participate in the best activities. He didn’t strive to be the best. So me wanting to be this role model to my sister, to all these people that look up to me, that’s what made me a leader. Not just these titles, but I do have a lot of leadership experience from those.

DA: How will you lead SGA differently than previous presidents?

CM: I feel like how I would lead differently is: I would continue and expand my connection with the student body. I’m not super familiar with what the previous SGA president did. I don’t want to be the SGA president that leaves the candidate next year wondering ‘what did the president of 2019-2020 do?’. I want to directly know what he or she to know directly what was done in my candidacy and run. I want to centralize and make these ideas great. I want to leave an impact so people without doubt can say ‘this president did this, this president has accomplished this, this president has made Stanton better.