While last year’s Student Government elections came to focus upon the Greene Street Gates, or Gate-gate, this year’s focus is upon a somewhat different set of issues. Rather than one singular, divisive and clear-cut question, the candidates are left navigating topics old and new.
Usual concerns, such as parking and the near invisibility of Student Government to average students, have come up in the campaign and the interviews the editorial board conducted with the candidates. But after the impeachmentof Fraternity Council President Tim Bryson, controversies during homecoming and the 2020 Vision protests, campus unity and the experience of marginalized groups have come to the forefront of the debate.
Some presidential candidates, such as Dennzon Winley, have articulated a myriad of specific proposals to help underserved groups and unify the campus. Trey Byars tended to stick to more traditional appeals to experience and administrative skill, while stating he would shy away from the sorts of large undertakings some have demanded. While we admire both competence and vision, given the great challenges anyone serious about unity would face, we believe some mix of both is necessary.
For these reasons, we endorse Lee Goble for student body president.
Goble, the sitting vice president, is undeniably qualified for the job and knows what it would entail. He also has extensive knowledge of how the senate works and how Student Government can be used for change. Some candidates may have had clearer plans to help certain groups, but Goble showed that his heart was undeniably in the right place over the course of our interview. He routinely cited his desire to help the students on campus and expressed real frustration at both injustices and the perception of Student Government as unwilling to fix them.
In the course of covering his vice presidency, the editorial board has seldom had a bad word to say about Goble, and we have found nothing in his record to disqualify him from the presidency. If anything, he has consistently been an advocate for transparency and progress. His blend of experience and real empathy makes him best able to advocate for the student body and assist in the process of moving forward.
The vice presidential candidates often shied away from discussing how to mend divisions and inequities and instead focused upon either their experience, more traditional methods of unity such as campus-wide celebrations or sporting events, or broad statements about helping all groups on campus. As such, we determined that the minor differences in vision are less important than experience.
We endorse Ross Lordo for vice president.
Lordo currently serves as president pro tempore of the senate, right beneath the vice president. His ideas for reform are mostly focused upon making Student Government more transparent and accountable. If elected, he would record votes and live stream meetings so the public can have more information on the effort and record of their senators. While there are drawbacks to this plan, such as the low level of interest in the information made public, it is a concrete step forward.
The candidates for president and vice president often played up their insider credentials and ability to work with the system. The candidates for treasurer mostly focused upon how and why they would make major changes to their office.
We believe that Stinson Rogers is best prepared to make these changes, and as such we endorse him for treasurer.
Nick Santamaria, his opponent, has more mainstream credentials. But despite Rogers' outsider setback, some of his plans are more insightful or innovative. And while he may lack the depth of Santamaria’s experience in Student Government, Rogers' resume is perhaps more compelling overall.
A five-year veteran of the U.S. Army, Rogers handled the funding for events throughout Korea while serving there. He clearly knows his way around accounting and his innovative ideas for communicating with students and reforming broken programs could make real change on campus. We were impressed by his interview and proposals, and we look forward to seeing where he goes in the future.