The presidential candidates in this year's Student Assembly elections all ran on similar platforms, vowing to continue building the organization's legitimacy, address social issues on campus as well as promising student services.
But somehow, presidential candidate Jon Heavey '97 managed to pull clear away from the rest of the field, winning last week's election by more than 500 votes.
Students say it was not Heavey's campaign platform or promises that won him the landslide election, but instead point to his personality as the distinguishing factor among the candidates.
A likable guy with good ideas
"Last year it was a mandate -- [Student Assembly President Jim Rich '96] ran as an outsider trying to reform the SA," presidential candidate Steve Salemi '97 said after the results had been announced last night. "This year what it really was is that Jon ran a good campaign and is a likable guy with good ideas."
Presidential candidate Sarah Cho '97 and Rich agreed.
"He's very honest with what he wants to do," Cho said. "He is not a politician. That is a very important quality. He is a very sincere and open person who wants to work with other people."
Rich described Heavey as "personable."
"The misconception with many student elections is people often think that policy and issues are more important than the candidates themselves," Rich said. "Often the most electable person is the best communicator and most personable. This is certainly the case with Jon."
Shakari Cameron '96, a member of the Assembly's executive committee, credited Heavey's aggressive campaigning for propelling him
to victory.
"I was struck by his posters," Cameron said. "They were really focused."
"Controversial issues surrounded the other candidates," she added.
Cautious Expansion
Just like last year, when crippling political-infighting thrust a fresh face, Rich, into the presidency on his pledge of reform, Heavey, also an Assembly outsider, has promised to build upon the efforts of this year's Assembly.
Candidates and voters alike agree that Heavey's landslide victory reflects a mandate to continue the efforts of this year's Assembly to bring legitimacy to the organization by providing student services.
Next year's Assembly "should recognize the work done this year and take advantage of its manpower" to propel the Assembly forward, Heavey said.
Heavey's victory "could be seen as a continuation or ratification of moderate leadership of an Assembly that is interested primarily in student issues," Jim Brennan '96 said.
Rich said the job of the next president is to "take what the assembly built this year to new levels."
This year's Assembly has sought to regain student trust by building a portfolio of successful student service projects, but an oft-heard complaint is that in this process the organization has shied away from addressing controversial campus events.
Student Assembly Vice President Kelii Opulauoho '96 said, "I believe that SA has accomplished a great deal this year, but primarily in the realm of student services, which from the get-go was Jim's intention. I still believe that there are many social improvements to be made on this campus."
"If SA fails to address these issues then much of the campus will need to find other venues for social change, and SA will continue on the path of student services," Opulauoho added.
While Rich disagreed with this sentiment, saying, "Once they get in to see the meat of what we've done this year, they'll see we tackled more issues this year than past Student Assemblies have," Heavey said he thinks the Assembly should cautiously aspire to take on a more audible voice in campus issues.
"I heard that criticism a lot," Heavey said. "I think the SA needs to be very deliberate in its approach to tackling bigger issues."
"Taking it one step at a time is the right approach," he said.
Heavey said initially the Assembly will look to provide more student services, such as brighter lights in classrooms and soap in bathrooms.
"We will provide smaller things in the fall and then go on from there," he said. "If bigger ideological issues arise, I think the SA would be in a good position to address them on an individual level."
Working as a team
Rich said he feels sure that the leadership of next year's Assembly is in good hands in large part because of the election of Chris Swift '98 to the position of Assembly vice president.
"Jon has some good leadership skills and a good vision for the Student Assembly, but most importantly he has a person by his side in Chris Swift that has impeccable organizational skills and will run an incredibly tight internal structure," Rich said.
"For the Assembly to ever function at its best, the internal structure needs to be running smoothly and the vice president really has to be running it. That hasn't happened in the past," he added.
Last night Opulauoho said he feels Heavey and Swift will work well together if they have a strong general Assembly behind them.
"If the Assembly decides to deal with hard issues it can be very effective, but it is another year with moderates at the helm though. I have reservations about that," he said.
The other vice presidential candidates agreed that it is Swift's organizational skills that garnered him the vice presidential victory.
"Chris really ran a good campaign," vice presidential candidate Joan Ai '98 said. "He put in a lot of effort and time -- he 'just kept on going,' like his campaign posters said."
Swift said he hopes to build upon the work already accomplished by this year's Assembly.
"A lot of good people have put hard work into building the foundations we need," Swift said. "In the next year, I want to take that foundation and start building a very effective and dynamic organization that is going to serve both as a voice for student interest and as a provider of student services."
