In the April 9 Verbum Ultimum ("Involved@Dartmouth.edu"), we identified two critical aspects of the role of Student Body president: representing students at large and presiding over an effective forum for student ideas. For the past two years, the student body has been fortunate to elect presidents who proved to be more than capable of fulfilling the first task, representing the Dartmouth student body to Parkhurst, Hanover and the wider world. But we have also seen Student Assembly founder in increasing irrelevance, and we believe this upcoming year which will be less dominated by budget cuts and the incorporation of new administrators brings an opportunity to turn attention to the organization's cause. Thus, we endorse the only candidate who has presented a fresh and pragmatic attempt to revamp the Assembly for the next era at Dartmouth: Eric Tanner '11.
Change for the sake of change is never a cause to rally around. But Tanner's plan to restructure the Assembly's stale committee system offers a chance to create a consistent forum for debate and a means for making the Assembly more accessible to the entire student body. The current committees attempt to address broad topics such as "Student Life," "Student Services" and "Academic Affairs," but trip over their own feet when they try to tackle the specific issues. Tanner's plan would scrap those largely ineffective bodies and the programming they provide in favor of issue-based committees, addressing specific student concerns, such as alcohol policy, sustainability and sexual assault. The other candidates have also suggested eliminating many of the programming aspects of Student Assembly in favor of taking on larger campus problems, but only Tanner has a plan that refocuses the body's organizational structure around addressing particular policy issues.
Yet the restructuring alone won't be enough to fix the inherent lack of student representation in these new committees. This is where Tanner's idea to involve "experts" students from across campus with knowledge, experience and investment in an issue could prove highly effective. College President Jim Yong Kim put together his alcohol task force, the Student and Presidential Alcohol Harm Reduction Committee, following this very principle by tapping various leaders of the Inter-Fraternity Council, the Assembly and Dartmouth EMS in an attempt to create effective policy. By applying this tactic to the committee system, the Assembly will add a broader base of accomplished voices and have a chance to reclaim the authority to host important student debates.
The Assembly will not become the legislative body it ought to be in only one year, but if Tanner is elected, it has the potential to gain credibility as a positive force for change. It does not escape us that this might be a sacrificial year, as an emphasis on legislative overhaul will probably slow executive initiatives although hopefully not stall them. We are willing, however, to take this calculated risk because we believe that Tanner's proposed reforms to the Assembly are substantive and attainable, albeit ambitious.
The other two candidates certainly have strengths that would make them excellent Student Body presidents, and the campaign period has yielded a number of other good suggestions for Assembly improvements. We counsel the winning candidate to bear in mind the insight made by Uthman Olagoke '11 that the Assembly is made strong only by student participation. As long as meetings consist of 15 students sitting in Carson L01, nothing will change. We also believe that Elena Falloon '11 has demonstrated an impressive connection to and understanding of the wide range of diverse issues that face students on a daily basis, a talent the next president should try to fulfill.
To that end, we hope that Tanner, if elected, will appreciate the responsibility that comes with representing every Dartmouth student on this campus. Part of that responsibility entails reaching out to each segment of the student body and becoming deeply familiar with the issues that affect them aspiring to be more than simply a leader of Student Assembly, but also an advocate for all student interests.
Revamping Student Assembly is the most important change a candidate can make in the next year. Only with a relevant and powerful body that addresses major issues can students make substantive change in administrative policy in the long run. We believe that Eric Tanner's platform gives students the best chance for that to happen. Whomever you support, however, be sure to cast your vote in today's election. There is still nothing stronger than a student body that stands up and votes.
In the interest of full disclosure, we would like to acknowledge that Tanner is a staff photographer for The Dartmouth.
