I have heard a lot of talk during this campaign about my opponents' many accomplishments in their time on Student Assembly. And yet, like nearly every person I have spoken with in the past few weeks, I feel that Student Assembly has done a fairly mediocre job of representing me and working to improve my Dartmouth experience.
I see an $80,000 budget frittered away on fancy dinners, leadership retreats, and bikes that will inevitably be broken or stolen. I see a quiet, soft-spoken leadership that fails to stand up to the Administration when my needs are not being met. I see an inward-focused Student Assembly rather than one that consistently reaches out to underrepresented groups to offer support and ask how it can help. I see a shortage of energy, a lack of imagination and a dearth of leadership.
With your support, I can see a big change coming. I can see a better Student Assembly that listens to you, fights for you, and works to make Dartmouth a better place.
My opponents love to list all the committees they have served on and how many meetings they have attended. That's swell. Really, it is. But if you're like me and you can't think of more than one or two things that Student Assembly has done for you, I can tell you exactly who is responsible for that. My opponents maintain that my outsider status will hinder my ability to accomplish my goals as president. I maintain that their insider status will hinder their ability to reform what has turned into a slow-moving, wasteful, irrelevant institution. I think they might just be scared that I will give Student Assembly the kick in the ass that it needs right now. And they should be.
I have developed extensive leadership experience through my involvement in a diverse array of campus organizations. As president of the Young Democrats for two years, I coordinated nearly all of the presidential campaign visits during the New Hampshire primary, and I directed the Dartmouth Kerry/Edwards 2004 campaign. I have been op-ed editor for The Dartmouth, a Sexual Abuse Peer Advisor, a DDS employee at the Novack Caf, an officer for Alpha Delta fraternity and a member of the rugby team since freshman year.
I have an ambitious set of goals for next year's Student Assembly, but I know that with the right energy and determination they can all be accomplished. I will work for later library hours, a late-night dining option and a more reasonable meal plan. I'll work to increase the number of Greenprint stations around campus and I'll work to bring back composting. I will fight for the full adoption of the proposed SEMP changes, a safer and more useful Good Samaritan policy and an alcohol policy that makes some sense. I will fight to protect the Greek system, but I will also fight to improve it and make it safer and more inclusive. Most importantly, I will fight for you.
Student Assembly does not need more of the same. What it needs is a fresh perspective and a louder voice. If you're happy the way things are, then I encourage you to vote for one of the others. But if you feel it's time for a change, then I ask you to vote for me. I am You. Vote you.
