Campus SPLC chapter will focus on social issues

Asem Abdelfattah The Student Government Association (SGA) adopted the constitution of the Southern Poverty Law Center on Campus (SPLC) at its latest meeting. Kourtney Frye, a senior social science and pre-law major from Monroeville and founder of SPLC at Troy, said SPLC aims to help students advocate on social issues without political partisanship. “I think it was important to bring SPLC on campus because we don’t have an organization that looks at different social issues holistically,” Frye said. “It is an opportunity that gives students a platform to advocate for issues without any political tag. “The goal of SPLC isn’t to add to the division but to bring students together to fight social and economic issues that face us all.” Savannah Atkins, a senior social science and pre-law major from Freeport, Florida, and president of SPLC at Troy, said its first event would be a voter registration drive for all students. “One of the biggest initiatives that we are trying to push is the voter drive,” Atkins said. “We want to give all students the opportunity to register to vote, regardless of their political affiliation.” Atkins said her personal goal and responsibility is to push advocacy education to Troy students. “Also, (we have) a discussion panel to talk about local, state and national level issues like social justice, poverty and racial discrimination, among other issues,” Atkins said. “My personal goal is to push for education that would bring the best in us to advocate for the least among us and the most vulnerable. “Troy came a long way because of advocacy and people sacrificing their lives and we are responsible to continue to push for equality and individualism.”