Any Way You Want It

Jacob Jones, a computer
engineering sophomore and current Student Government senator, is running for vice
president on the“Any Way You Want It”ticket.

The “Any Way” ticket is composed of Jones
as vice president and biomedical engineering junior Lance Gopilan as a senator.
It’s the only ticket that does not have a candidate for president. At UTD,
voters can elect candidates from multiple platforms. If elected, Jones and
Gopilan could serve as vice president and senator, respectivelty, along with
any of the other three presidential candidates.

“It’s only two
of us, but we’re willing to put ourselves into any group of people that’s
willing to make the student body as successful as possible,” Jones said.

Jones said he
initially joined another ticket but chose to leave.

“I decided I
prefer to run things my own way and show people that I’m not confined to a
presidential candidate,” Jones said.

Jones said that
while the president might have more power, he felt the VP position was
ultimately the best way for him to help people within the student government.

“The president
has … all these outward facing roles,” Jones said. “The vice president gets to
come back on the internal side, gets to plan things and makes sure things run
smoothly so that whenever the president … goes out and tells the student body
that we’ve done something great, that things are truly great.”

Jones worked
for Chartwells, the campus food service provider, as a marketing ambassador during
his time at UTD. He said that he resigned on March 14. Once elected, the SG
president and vice president are not permitted to work outside jobs, as they
each receive a stipend. Candidates do not need to resign unless they are
elected.

Jones said his
decision to resign was split between the potential conflict of interest, a lack
of professional interest in the position and his personal ethics regarding
recent allegations against Chartwells.

“I want to make
sure the best companies are working for UTD students, and if that involves
investigating, then of course, that’s something I’d be interested in pursuing,”
Jones said.

Jones said he
hopes to continue in the footsteps of outgoing president Eric Chen and continue
to make SG more accessible to students through the continued development of the
UTD app. Jones said he is a meticulous planner and that he’s hoping to make his
organizational skills a cornerstone of his campaign.

“The nerd in me
is looking forward most to updating the Comet Discount programs website,” Jones
said. “Ultimately one of the bigger things that I think makes the Student Government
more effective is the Senate retreat in the fall and one of the roles of the
vice president is to plan that retreat … that’s one of the things I’m looking
forward to the most.”

Jones said he’d
like to eventually work for the alternative energy industry, optimizing
computer systems. Along with his engineering major, he’s pursuing a minor in
political science which he hopes to put to use beyond SG.

“I have my
sights set on being a city council member back in Mesquite to start,” Jones
said.

Jones took a
gap year after graduating from high school to intern for Mesquite’s city
manager.

“I loved the
ability to make change on that kind of level,” Jones said.

Additional
reporting by Bhargav Arimilli