The Student Assembly has become irrelevant to almost every student on campus. This is a reality the current and past leadership of the SA refuse to acknowledge. Michael Sevi and I acknowledge this reality, and aim to embark on a process of significant and proactive change. We are willing to question any and every aspect of the SA that we see as an obstacle to effective and representative student government. Sevi and I recognize the SA has a legitimacy problem and that the remedy must be fundamental reform and reinvention of student government at Dartmouth.
The release of The Sevi-Rahim 7-Point Plan for Building a True Student Government has already galvanized discussion and been the center of debate among the current crop of candidates and the Student Assembly itself. A number of this year's candidates have suddenly become more amenable to SA reform in the face of our platform. The changes they propose, however, are half-hearted attempts to counter our tangible plans and intentions. The SA itself, following The Dartmouth's critical editorial and our platform's release, is scrambling with knee-jerk reactions to give a superficial facelift to its legitimacy problem. The overhaul of Dartmouth student government is a necessity, and in our 7-Point Plan we outline a trajectory of real and tangible change.
My opponents have raised the specter of experience. We agree Michael and I are not out to inherit the SA. We are out to win our positions on the merits of our ideas. Neither of us is ignorant of the realities of the SA's operations. I spent one-third of my Dartmouth career to date as the elected East Wheelock freshman representative. I left the assembly, however, after my freshman year thoroughly disillusioned with its structure and operation. The experience left me acutely aware of many of the fundamental weaknesses of the SA. I have eagerly pursued leadership opportunities in many other areas of campus. I have proudly served as a President of Milan. My experience as a Big Brother mentor and a chair of the program at Tucker has been immensely rewarding. I have delighted in heading two Rockefeller Center organizations. Chairing the World Affairs Council at the Dickey Center has been a tremendously insightful experience. Serving as a UGA in East Wheelock taught me much about Dartmouth. Being a COSO board member has made me sensitive to the varied needs of the campus' many student organizations.
I believe in the principles of representative democracy and want to deliver a legitimate student government to Dartmouth students. Included below are salient elements of our 7-Point Plan:
Aly and Michael will create the rapid Reform Action Committee (RAC) upon election. The RAC will be guided by the principles of the Sevi-Rahim 7-Point Plan, and it will deliver a comprehensive package of reforms overhauling the Student Assembly.
1)Representativeness: Voting members of the SA do not have distinct representational responsibilities, and are overwhelmingly non-elected. Having all voting members elected by a defined constituency is a vital cornerstone of representative government. The RAC will implement such constituencies and restore the representative relationship between student government representatives and students.
2)Accountability: The issues of representativeness and accountability are closely linked. Restoring accountability is essential to restoring relevance. Members can too easily cast aside accountability and act on their own concerns. The RAC will restore accountability through tangible measures, such as a published voting roll, and a recall mechanism.
3)Executive Branch: An open and transparent application process will be used to fill the student government executive positions. Through this we hope to draw from a greater cross-section of campus leadership.
4)Transparency/Communication: All closed meetings will be opened up to the press. Closed doors and insider politics will become a thing of SA history.
5)Social Leadership: The SA will shift its emphasis from its current agenda based on insider projects, to an agenda that mirrors the interests and concerns of the greater student body. The agenda of the student body will be the agenda of the student government.
6)Diversity: The constituency system will be designed to fully and fairly represent all peoples on campus.
7)Administration: After restoring legitimacy and reinventing the SA as a representative student government, we will go before the administration and demand recognition as a true student government that cannot be ignored.
A vote for Sevi-Rahim is a vote guaranteeing a real and significant reform of student government.
