On Monday, October 12, Students at Florida A&M University questioned gubernatorial candidate David Jolly about his political history, higher education, and plans for Florida during a town hall hosted by FAMU’s Student Government Association and Rise Tallahassee.
The event’s purpose was to give students an opportunity to ask Jolly directly about policies affecting their university and the larger state ahead of the November 3 general election.
As a former Republican congressman, the Democratic candidate faced questions surrounding his political transformation from one party to the other, his time as an independent and whether his political journey would translate into meaningful change.
Morgan Tyler, a senior biomedical engineering student, says she remains cautious about his changing political affiliations.
“I just want to make sure that he’s not saying what we want to hear just to get in office,” Tyler said. “I definitely am on the more so weary side, if I’m being honest.”
Despite her concerns, Tyler thinks Jolly’s willingness to explain his positions and acknowledge disagreements with students gave her reasons to consider him as a worthy candidate.
Third-year civil engineering student Cameron Temple was among the students who were allowed to question Jolly in real time at the town hall event. The FAMU NAACP president asked Jolly about Florida’s congressional redistricting and the possibility of establishing an independent redistricting commission.
“Jolly basically answered every single question in stride,” Temple said. “The answer that he provided [to me] was that he’d leave it up to a ballot referendum to establish an independent redistricting commission.”
However, Temple said voters would ultimately need to hold Jolly accountable if he were elected.
“He hasn’t held power as a Democrat,” Temple said, adding that voters would have to see what he does in office before judging his promises.
Higher education was another major concern among the student body, particularly Jolly’s proposal to elevate FAMU’s status and pursue flagship-university recognition.
Freshman political science student Desmond Whitfield was another among students who gathered to bring questions to gubernatorial candidate Jolly. The 56th Student Senate Judicial and Rules Chairman said the discussion prompted him to research what flagship university status could mean for the institution.
“I think it makes a lot of sense given our university’s esteemed history of producing scholars at such a massive rate,” Whitfield said. “I think it only makes sense for us.”
Whitfield also questioned Jolly about protecting Floridians, particularly children, from becoming desensitized to murder amid the current political climate.
“I was rather pleased with his response,” Whitfield said. “He discussed some of his own experiences with desensitization in the political world as well as his stipulations of signing death warrants.”
Current FAMU SGA president and university Board of Trustees member Kennedy Williams said the town hall gave students an important opportunity to engage directly with a gubernatorial candidate.
“A lot of times, especially as HBCU students, our voices can be overlooked when it comes to local and state politics,” said President Williams. “I think it was effective. The students who came really made an impact and were able to get their points across as far as what policies they want to see, and what the potential governor’s plan might be for Florida A&M.”
