The Student Assembly has proven to be an ineffective and oftentimes incompetent body. The new Assembly President is faced with the task of bringing relevance and influential power to an organization that has largely epitomized mediocrity. Student government is usually not taken very seriously. People argue that the positions have no power regardless of who is elected. If students want their representatives to have influence, they themselves need to take elections seriously and demand that candidates effectively support their views.
There are two essential qualities that the next President should possess. First, he must be willing to sound the fire alarm. All too often the Assembly acts as a rubber stamp for the administrative agenda. It relegates itself to programs such as "Big Green Bikes," and buying computers when really these should be tasks the College, not the student activities budget, spends its resources and time fuddling with. The Assembly needs to take stands on tough issues by presenting a united student voice. It should be an active voice that people turn to. This representation has not existed during the tenure of Julia Hildreth '05, and was only sporadically present during the presidency of Janos Marton '04.
Second, the President must be strong-willed enough to push for change and not stop at the first closed door he sees. This involves a certain savvy pertaining to organizational and leadership abilities, but also a persistence and willingness to wrestle a little bit. Hildreth was good at the organizational end, but she too often dealt with inconsequential matters. Every student at one point or another gripes about something that they wish would be changed. This columnist does it every other week. The Assembly President is the person who doesn't have the luxury of merely throwing stones, but is entrusted by the student body to actually make things happen. The student body has simply grown accustomed to inaction. He has four thousand voices in his back pocket and needs to exert the force of all of them.
Former Assembly Vice-President Noah Riner '06 is the candidate who best fits both of these criteria. He is passionate and willing to take stands when critical issues arise. He understands the need for a strong student voice, and has a broad understanding of the diversity of areas where student representation would be crucial. At the same time, he's not all smoke either. He manages to change frustrations into action. This is easier said than done and it is a rare candidate who possesses both of these traits.
Paul Heintz '06, while capable at circling the wagons, would likely not command the requisite presence to cause administrators to take note. His vision is admirable, and the idea of an outsider candidate to clean up the inefficient Assembly is appealing. However, it seems as though he would lack the focus to take on difficult issues and persist through to see a change. He thrives in the sensational. While this is better than Hildreth's mastery of the picayune, it makes him an attractive candidate, but not the best in the field.
The recent endorsement by Marton coupled with significant campus momentum make it appear as though he is in a strong position to win the election. While Marton was at times effective, he lacked in execution. Heintz and Marton are very similar. Riner has the quality that they are both missing.
Brian Martin '06 seems to possess an organizational command of the Assembly, but does not appear to have the vision that Riner or Heintz do. That said, his ability to accomplish things within the Assembly would be a welcome change. It is likely that Martin as President would lead to increased activism and efficiency from the Assembly. Unfortunately, it does not seem that he would be able to make the Assembly relevant -- the most important end of any candidate.
A serious consideration of the field leads leaves Riner as the candidate most likely to bring relevance to the Assembly. If you bicker that the Assembly doesn't do enough or doesn't hold enough importance, then you ought to give consideration to how that end might be achieved. It can be attained with careful selection, not just following what the rest of the sheep do.
In sum, this column encourages voters to place Riner as their top selection, followed by Martin and then Heintz in the newly installed instant runoff voting procedure. The other candidates in the election do not appear to possess the qualities of these three.
