The coming year will be a busy one for Student Government. The Student Activity fee may be raised and redistributed. The Board of Trustees may vote to divest from fossil fuel equities. Reported cases of on-campus sexual assault are rising and that needs to be addressed in some form.
Now more than ever, the student body needs to participate in the election process and properly inform themselves along the way. The Eagle’s editorial board had the privilege to meet with each candidate running for an SG Executive Board position and openly question his or her platform. These are our endorsements:
Comptroller – Abby Dunn
Despite her unopposed position, The Eagle found Abby Dunn to be a suitable and capable candidate for comptroller. As the co-director of AU Students for Choice and the treasurer of the AU Community Action and Social Justice coalition, Dunn is well versed in bookkeeping and leadership. Her platforms to freeze administrative pay as well as reform the Student Health Center and sexual assault prevention are heartening, but ambitious for the role of comptroller. We urge Dunn to first confront her own department’s issues such as the lack of transparency regarding SG timesheets, which have not been posted since September.
Secretary – Sarah Preston
The Eagle endorses Sarah Preston for secretary due her prior experience as press secretary, reliable demeanor and willingness to amend and improve SG’s communicative issues. We found Preston’s campaign to increase SG transparency and “streamline communications” between SG, Club Council and Student Media to be practical, enlightening and possible. In addition, we urge her to pursue a unitary social media policy for members of the Student Government Executive Board. We hope she will work closely and comfortably with The Eagle in the future to successfully inform the AU community on all SG-related matters.
Vice President – Molly Kepner
The Eagle endorses Molly Kepner for vice president. She has proven programming experience within the AU College Republicans, collaborating with KPU to bring an impressive lineup of speakers to campus this past year including S.E. Cupp, Ron Paul and Dick Cheney. We fully support her ideas to incorporate speakers from different backgrounds and fields such as sports, business and science as well as reintroduce online ticketing for Founder’s Day. If elected, Kepner needs to draw out and publicize the blueprint for her major initiatives, which her campaign seems to lack.
Disclosure: Kepner wrote for The Eagle’s sports section last year as a contributing writer.
President – Sophia Wirth
After interviewing each candidate, The Eagle endorsed Sophia Wirth for SG president. A major foundation of her campaign is to continue advocating for fossil fuel divestment. As a member of Fossil Free AU, she demonstrates genuine passion and knowledge for the initiative and will be an effective voice during talks with the Board of Trustees. She also wants to create a student/faculty coalition against sexual assault and advocates for an administrative pay freeze, which she called a “…demand; not a question.” Most significantly, her background in communications is a fresh perspective that could breathe life into a more transparent, communal and informative Student Government.
Regardless of who wins on Election Day, The Eagle was impressed with ideas from every single campaign. Tyler Bowders’ idea to give every student the right to choose a preferred name/pronoun is justified. Alex Hoffman’s plan for AU Central to provide financial aid “counselors” is innovative and long overdue. Poulami Banerji’s desire to freeze tuition is the kind of ambitious mindset an SG President will need to negotiate with the Board of Trustees. We hope Wirth will incorporate these ideas into her campaign and implement them if elected president.
The Eagle has been disappointed in years past by similar SG promises to shake up the status quo. But this is an especially pivotal election. There are high stakes pertaining to club/student media funding, fossil fuel divestment and the future of Founder’s Day. Candidates need to recognize that responsibility and serve their new positions with an equally fresh brand of transparency and open-mindedness. This campaign has been promising. We can only hope that the winners don’t forget that. -E
