The majestic palace that these candidates are running so diligently to occupy
Elections for the Student Association E-board are this Friday. Based on last year’s voting rate of 14%, students really couldn’t care less who wins, but then again, most of them probably don’t care too much about Obamacare or Crimea, and that doesn’t stop us from writing about those subjects.
Unlike some of our predecessors, the current slate of Review editors aren’t as deeply involved with internal SA politics, so I won’t exaggerate the importance of the work the SA E-board does, and in truth, it’s hard to imagine the life of the average student being too drastically different no matter who wins.
Having said all that, the elections aren’t entirely insignificant. The VP for Finance handles a budget exceeding two million dollars. The VP for Academic Affairs serves an important function as the liaison between students and the administration on academic issues. Some positions are less important, but hey, the same is true of everything organization, including the Review.
Our top two editors, Dan Milyavsky and Sam Bondy, attended the candidates’ “debate”—more of a press conference—on Monday, March 24. We were the only two people there. (Okay, a slight exaggeration, but only slight). Some of our endorsements are based almost exclusively on the debate, whereas others are based on other factors as well. Without any further ado, here they are:
President:
Skillfully connected, entirely qualified and well motivated, we endorse Ravi Prakriya for SA President. With a multitude of goals and a year to fulfill them, we believe Ravi will enact lasting change on the University. He is not afraid to speak his mind, even to senior school officials, and we are happy to have him leading the Sodexo renewal contract negotiations next year. We are also excited to hear more about his collaboration with the VPAA on creating RA-delivered “Miranda Rights” to students who are suspected of wrong.
Executive Vice President:
Our endorsement for Chris Zamlout comes with no hesitation. He has a comprehensive background in the SA Office itself, as well as in various student groups. Chris possesses the enthusiasm and curiosity needed to truly excel at the role. We think he is well-prepared and are excited to see what synergies he produces between the motley of campus organizations.
Vice President of Finance
Thomas Sheehan gains our endorsement as Vice President of Finance. He has the wealth of knowledge and experience pertinent in dealing with the bureaucracies of the role. As arguably the hardest SA position, we are certain Tom can devote the time and resources needed to ensure that student groups are properly treated. A candidate with almost two years of experience, we just hope that an adequate replacement is trained for after his graduation. P.S. Please stop rejecting our vouchers!
Vice President for Multicultural Affairs
In the past, we have advocated the abolition of this position, but we now believe, that the VP for Multicultural Affairs does not do any active harm and in fact may put on some worthwhile events. Although she was asked some challenging questions, Isis McIntosh Green answered them shrewdly, and we endorse her for re-election.
Vice President for Academic Affairs
Far and away, the Review enthusiastically endorses Don Greenberg. He has big ambitions for the office, beyond just continuing the NY Times readership program and helping students with conduct issues. He wants to overhaul the academic grievance process, and press the Administration on ineffective classes like Writing 111. From our own experience, huge and vastly important introductory science classes like Biology 118 are taught by incompetent professors semester after semester. Don simply goes above and beyond his fellow candidates with his vision for the office. Our only hope is that dealing with intractable administrators will tame his sometimes hyperbolic ego.
Vice President for Programming:
We endorse Daniel Sherman. He has extensive experience and wisely pointed attention to the fact that many events put on by the SAPB (SA Programming Board) are not well advertised, and we believe he would be a competent VP for Programming. Stephanie Zagreda would be our second choice for this position, as she also demonstrated a great amount of familiarity with the position.
If there are any questions about our endorsements, or about the Binghamton Review in general please don’t hesitate to contact us at editor@binghamtonreview.com. Also, like us on Facebook if you haven’t already! https://www.facebook.com/binghamtonreview?ref=br_tf