“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” — Nelson Mandela
I am honored to be running for president of the Student Assembly. My reason for running is very simple: I believe I have the best qualifications and the greatest determination of any of the candidates to help make Dartmouth an even better experience for all those who follow us here in years to come. I know with your help we can make big strides in very important challenges and still have time and resources to fix the small but significant annoyances we all deal with on campus every day.
There are a lot of promises swirling about as we approach election day. Matt Robinson ’15 and I have carefully outlined a set of attainable goals — and first, basic steps that we can take to start down a road to an even better campus environment for all of us.
One simple fact that we can all agree on is that we have been given an extraordinary opportunity to arm ourselves with an extraordinary education. For almost all of us, someone gave us this opportunity. For many it was parents; for others, it was a mentor or institution that believed in us and made these four years possible. We owe to those people and to each other a commitment to better ourselves and better this great college. If you walk away from Hanover without having helped a classmate, you will have shortchanged yourself. I have spent a lot of time listening to the concerns of others, and I put together a plan called “Efficient Dartmouth 2015.” It is spelled out on our Facebook page and addresses in the most fundamental of ways many of the problems that together we can change. Here are some highlights:
1. Social life: No one should have to walk our campus, live in our dorms or visit our frat houses fearful of a sexual assault. Matt and I have proposed establishing “sexual assault chairs” at each place whose responsibility it would be to understand the problem and to implement real steps towards eliminating the culture of tacit tolerance.
2. Academic life: Let’s establish longer rest periods before finals, and let’s start a program that better introduces freshman to campus life. Common sense.
3. Personal life: We will work with those capable of repairing Dartmouth Dining Services/GreenPrint to actually get them fixed. This is not brain surgery — we will get it working and that will make our lives a little easier.
We are already well beyond the talking stage. Details of these plans and others are on our Facebook page: Vote Graham Robinson. Please take a look.
Our opponents often focus on the things that separate us instead of the more important values and experiences that will forever bind us as Dartmouth graduates. This campaign has been a very rewarding experience for me. I have visited every dorm and met everyone who answered my knock at the door. I have enjoyed getting to know so many of my fellow students, and it has taught me to be an even better listener. Matt and I will unite this diverse student body toward common goals.
Nelson Mandela was right. We are equipped to change the world. Help us make this an even better experience — help us change conversation into accomplishment.
Please vote for Jay Graham and Matt Robinson.
We will certainly leave Dartmouth as better people ready to change the world — Let’s do our best to make Dartmouth a better place for those who follow us here...
Jay Graham '15 is running for student body president.
