Jaromy Siporen will be best able to steward Student Assembly in the direction of change. After the Editorial Board privately met with each candidate, it became clear that the ideas in Siporen's platform are the most feasible; his dissatisfaction with Student Assembly's current structure is the most cogent; his understanding of Student Assembly is the most thorough; and his leadership style is the most conducive for successful implementation of his platform.
Siporen sees the improvement of students' quality of life as the ultimate objective of Student Assembly and builds his platform on this vision. We endorse Siporen's plan to first use small accomplishments to establish rapport with the administration, Student Assembly members and the student body, and to then parlay these accomplishments into broader initiatives.
Siporen's leadership experience lends itself best to achieving his goals as president. As vice president of his fraternity, Siporen's connections with the Coed, Fraternity and Sorority Administration put him in the best position to achieve SEMP reform. Having served as the Assembly's Parliamentarian for two years, Siporen possesses an outstanding working knowledge of the organization and its structural flaws, and his attention to detail and ability to follow through on initiatives make him the candidate most likely to improve students' everyday lives at Dartmouth.
Siporen also expresses a strong interest in making Student Assembly more representative. He proposes eliminating the current rule that allows anyone who attends three meetings to vote in the General Assembly, and his comprehensive understanding of the rules and procedures will enable him to enact this reform.
The Editorial Board is unanimously opposed to the election of Carlos Mejia. While Mejia presents his ideas eloquently, he is strikingly closed-minded and abrasive. Leadership style is a crucial attribute in an Assembly president, and Mejia alienated even those on the Editorial Board who supported his policies. Mejia's grand promises overlook important details that are crucial to their implementation and will prove harder to overcome than he anticipates. Electing Mejia as Student Assembly president is not only a bad choice to represent student opinion, but would also serve to deter potential leaders from joining Student Assembly in the first place.
Travis Green has both a strong desire to hold the office of Student Assembly president and a long record of experience in student government. However, Green appears to be the most complacent with the current structure and activities of Student Assembly, and we are not convinced that he prioritizes improving student representation in the Assembly. His plan to recruit more freshmen to join Student Assembly does not address the problems of abysmal upperclassman retention and representation that currently weaken the body.
Raj Koganti is informed about the structure and finances of Student Assembly. But communication is key to the execution of even the most well-formulated plans, and Koganti is not able to succinctly describe his ideas. Koganti was also unable to effectively field questions during our interview, which may prove problematic, despite his good intentions. In addition, we worry that the ideas in his platform are too lofty for Student Assembly to tackle in its current state, and Koganti does not have an adequate plan to improve the infrastructure of the body.
Nova Robinson's proposal to increase the fiscal power of Student Assembly was poorly articulated. Increasing the monetary responsibility of Student Assembly should not be the first step in increasing its effectiveness. The risks that come with giving this dysfunctional organization more money outweigh the potential, but certainly not ensured, benefits of money better spent.
A high level of participation at the polls is the first step to greater representation in Student Assembly. Whomever you support, vote.
