To the Editor:
Over the course of the recent Student Assembly election I had the opportunity to learn a little about the political life here at Dartmouth.
Lesson one: A fair amount of Dartmouth students don't care. This is certainly stating the obvious considering Tuesday's turnout and the strong showing of Kato Kaelin.
Lesson Two: Campus politics creates interesting alliances. I found it quite amusing to learn that the "package deal" of Phil Ferrera, Kelii Opulauoho, etc. (both past or present officers in Greek houses) contained supporters like Sean Donahue and Rukmini Sichitiu who have frequently attacked the Greek system for being the cause of all evil at Dartmouth. I have to admit that I was a little surprised to see our current president actively campaigning (participating in yesterday's circus at Collis -- probably co-sponsored by the Programming Board as non-alcoholic student entertainment) for the past leader of a Greek house. A friend enlightened me with "that's politics."
Lesson three: Stick to your guns. If you end up losing the election you don't feel too bad the next day, as long as you know your message was sincere.
Lesson four: Never use terms like "reform" or "change" -- even when you mean it.
Lesson five: Endorsements are huge. I should have gone after dorm support. Imagine the posters: "Tovell is endorsed by the 'Little' people," or "Tovell is endorsed by 'Lord.'"
I could go on, but I'll save the rest for a novel or a speaker series. I had the opportunity to meet with a lot of people this week and have had quite a few educational discussions. I thank the people that helped me this past week and thank those of you who made it through to vote.
In fact, I'm satisfied with the overall results. Afterwatching "Alive"last night, I can't really complain. At least I didn't crash in the Andes and have to eat people for 70 days. As I return to a less public life, I wish Jim Rich and Opulauoho the best of luck in bringing respect to the SA.
