I came to Dartmouth wanting to compete on the track team. I spent much of my freshman year training to meet this goal. With time, however, I began to feel that my talents and energies could more effectively be put to use in other places. In my time at Dartmouth, I have cycled across America to raise funds and awareness for affordable housing; I've seen the 2004 Dartmouth Habitat for Humanity house through completion, serving as chapter chair for two terms; I've founded a focal campus-unifying & community-building event during Green Key Weekend -- the Festival of Humanity, which brings us together in collective support for service at Dartmouth; and I have planned two leadership programs for a total of 80 students, providing resources to become effective change agents at Dartmouth and beyond. Through these experiences, I have befriended many people in the Dartmouth community and have developed good working relationships with students, faculty and administrators alike. Moreover, I have established myself as a person with a passion for bringing good ideas to the table and the ability to get things done.
I am running for Student Body President because I have a vision for the future of Dartmouth next year. If elected Student Body President, I will bring my high level of creative imagination, responsibility and personal honesty to the office. As Student Body President, I will work for an electronic bulletin board system, which would save members of student organizations at Dartmouth many hours of walking around campus posting flyers for upcoming events. Moreover, this project would conserve reams of paper every year, an admirable goal as we reflect on our desire to achieve sustainability on our campus. I will also work for the establishment of an endowment for club sports teams. Our club athletes ought to spend their time pursuing excellence at their respective sports, not worrying about whether or not they will be able to afford travel to competitions in a given year. If I am given the chance to serve as Student Body President, I will set a positive, productive and invigorating tone for Dartmouth's Student Assembly.
The decision in this election ought not to be based upon sensational rhetoric, a brimming list of hollow promises or a fiery language of vagaries. It ought to be about a record of service to Dartmouth and confidence in one's ability to continue on in this spirit of good work as the tone setter for our student government next year. In my time Dartmouth, I have given a lot of myself to the college. In the time I have left, I want to give more. I bring sound judgment to the table, I act on facts rather than on emotions, I am attentive to detail and I take my commitments seriously. By nature, this is who I am. I could not be otherwise. In this sense, I feel I offer the students of Dartmouth a strong option.
n.b. By way of clarification, while I appreciate the kind thoughts of the Dartmouth Free Press in giving me its endorsement as a write-in candidate for Vice-President, I remain a candidate for President and ask that my supporters vote accordingly.
