Endorsement: Vrutika Mody for SGA
I, Ryan Kellett, endorse Vrutika Mody for President of the Student Government Association (SGA):
Vrutika Mody ’10 – Surprisingly, Mody is “in-touch” with the pulse of Middlebury even though she’s 6,000 miles away in China right now. Of all the candidates, she has the finest grasp of the nuances of many of the student issues from reducing workload to transportation in a post-free-parking world to SGA Bureucracy. She writes, “SGA will be more efficient once senators know exactly what our role is, what we can achieve and how much we just have to leave to President Liebowitz.” This is the key to the whole picture. The SGA needs to reinvent their role on campus before it can legitimately tackle the issues put forth by all the candidates. I have confidence that Vrutika will strip away some of the extraneous goals that even she lists (she already won the bookstore battle: the Bookstore now has booklists with ISBN available online 2 weeks before the beginning of the semester). Mody may just be able to finagle a group of hard-working students organized in “ad-hoc” groups, instead of the extended bureaucracy of numerous committees created this year. She has the most experience with the SGA and is the best-suited candidate for not only persuing an agenda, but also defining a new SGA.
The other candidates:
Nick Alexander ’10 – Showing that a slick website sure helps, Nick is actually a surprisingly refreshing candidate. His work for a Peace Project show that he is well equipped to handle the work ahead. Better yet, he shows a some ingenuity and actual detail in his policy proposals even if things like his “food committee” are iffy. He also misses the boat in suggesting electing commons co-chairs, a proccess which already happens. It is unfortunate, however, that he has no SGA experience. And this point is subtle but important. He doesn’t know what’s it’s like to have a sometimes unwieldly (resume-building?) group of Senators to work with. Alexander seems like he’s better suited as a on-the-ground entrepreneur and do-er. He might have trouble delicately naviating the pre-existing admittedly bureaucratic structures. Overall, he’s actually a good candidate, if he studies up this summer on Midd’s finer changes.
Mike Panzer ’10 – With the most poster publicity up on campus, Panzer actually may be winning the marketing battle. I like how he is attuned to what’s happening on campus from the price of printing to the Community Council-SGA divide. That comes from having the experience of being a SGA Senator and Speaker of the House this year. Props to him. But relying on “flexibility” to “respond to student concerns as they arise,” is far too often the annual code for “I won’t get anything done next year.” Overall, he shows the same practical qualities of Andrew DeLoach, but perhaps with a bit more of an eye on the details.
Tik Root ’12 – He may be a freshman Senator, but this guy is back for more. His hunger and energy are to be admired, even encouraged. But it’s almost as if his energy without the experience is holding him back. I am disappointed Tik does not have more concrete plans other than figuring out the SGA-Community Council lines and being “more active in the colleges’ financial situation.” If Tik keeps at it and his 2012 voting block continues, he certainly will have the opportunity to take on the Presidential challenge come his Junior or Senior year. EDIT 4/15 4:30PM: Viewing Tik Root’s YouTube video gives me a much better sense of some of the details he presents. I like how he addresses student on video and like some of his ideas, but I think what Tik misses is that this College does run by committee. I see a lot of his proposals as reactionary not proactive. My confidence in Tik has increased with viewing his video, which you should all do.
Andrew DeLoach ’10 – Bringing goals down to a very practical and tangible level is conscious strategy for Andrew. It is true that the small, attainable goals have always had more of likelihood of happening for the SGA but unfortunately, DeLoach misses the finer points of the basic stuff. For instance, he doesn’t quite grasp a shift in the College’s thinking about alcohol away from punishing underage drinkers to tagging problem drinkers, as outlined recently in The Campus. And no, I don’t think it’s a good idea to have TV cable in all dorms. Either way, he and Mike Panzer certainly look to have each other’s backs.
P.S. Can’t wait for Ashley Quisol ’11 to run for SGA President someday. She rocks the house with this blog. Maybe a write-in campaign?
Trackbacks & Pingbacks
- Presidential Elections 2009! « Middlebury Class of 2011
- The Campus 4/30 « MiddBlog
- Midd Blog Endorsement « Ashley Quisol
Comments are closed.
Ryan, who exactly is doing the endorsing here–you or Midd-Blog? In either case, I feel it is an unethical use of the site.
Why is it an unethical use of the site? Bloggers of all shapes and sizes endorse their favored candidates all the time.
Ryan,
Thanks for your thoughts. Just thought I should mention that Commons Chairs are not elected in all Commons on campus, only some. If you read my policies carefully, you’ll see that I mention “campus-wide” electoral democracy in the Commons system – key phrase: “campus-wide”. Furthermore, I argue for the introduction of governing constitutions – something you do not mention at all.
Perhaps you should brush up on the finer bits of Midd’s bureaucracy before make pronouncements? Haha, no harm done
Cheers,
Nick
The Pulse of the Campus hereby declares its endorsement for TIK ROOT
Watch the video:
bring back stanton
Andrew DeLoach is the 2nd coming of Stanton. Stanton was a great president and DeLoach will be just as good, if not better, if he is elected….
well in that case…VOTE NICK ALEXANDER!!
http://www.alexanderforsga.com/
Mr Kellett:
Your grammar is deplorable.
With Warmest Regards,
Andrew DeLoach’s second cousin
* Nice try Ryan, but it’s the headline I have a problem with. The casual visitor implicitly reads “[Midd-Blog's] Endorsement: Vrutika Mody for SGA.” Maybe the story should be titled “Ryan endorses Vrutika,” or better yet, write it on your own blog and post a link on Midd-Blog instead.
* Sarah, ethical arguments based on “well, everyone’s doing it” are historically weak, considering examples such as misogyny and homophobia.
My ethical problems with this post are two-fold:
1. exploitation of unequal access to mass media
People have come to expect a higher standard from Midd-blog; it’s not your average Joe’s opinion blog–it’s a news source, and one of only two major ones available to the Middlebury community. However, as only approved writers can post stories, access to Midd-blog’s readership is limited. Perhaps Midd-Blog is accepting endorsements from everyone, but if–as I suspect–it is not, this creates an unfair campaigning situation. Imagine analogies in which CNN ran Obama campaign ads but refused to air McCain’s, or in which the New York Times ran a headline reading “McCain Best Man for the Job” without giving Obama similar coverage. Just as these media titans have the power to influence national opinion, so too does Midd-Blog have the same authority (and attached responsibility) within the Middlebury Bubble, though apparently in posting this endorsement that was overlooked.
2. voter disenfranchisement through endorsements
When a person publicly endorses a candidate for office, he or she is asking others to vote for that candidate simply by way of respect for the endorsers’ opinions. Put another way, it means “vote the way I tell you to,” a decidedly undemocratic statement. When people vote along party lines, or on the recommendation of an entity like the NAACP, the AFL-CIO, or Pat Robinson, they are handing their ballot (and sovereignty) over–relieving themselves of the citizen’s onerous duty to make an informed decision–and so democracy suffers. Similarly, the SGA’s fragile legitimacy suffers when already-apathetic students simply throw their ballot to the candidate whose name they’ve seen most often. Middlebury students are, in theory, a smart bunch; we can–and should–think for ourselves, rather than letting somebody else suggest the best candidate to us.
If unethical is too strong, I still find endorsements in poor taste. I can only hope The Campus does not endorse a candidate (though I fully expect that, unable to resist the allure of the pulpit, they will).
My point, Michael, is that blogs are not journalism; they are biased and about opinions. Look at Slashdot, Huffington Post, Drudge Report, your own blog, or the blog of any other Joe Schmoe. The rules should not be any different for MiddBlog. So, to say that Ryan is being unethical by endorsing Vrutika Mody for SGA President is to disregard the intention of blogs in the first place. It is neither unethical, nor in poor taste to express one’s opinion. Moreover, it is important to note Ryan has already done a “news”-like piece about the SGA and SCCOCC by providing links to candidates’ Facebook pages without his editorial comments.
While we’re on the subject of strong words, I think disenfranchisement is also a profoundly strong word to use here. Ryan is not depriving anyone the right to vote by endorsing a candidate. As you say, Michael, Midd students are a smart bunch and should not select their candidate of choice based on Ryan’s or anyone’s endorsement. As we have already seen in the comments, several Midd students have stepped forward to indicate preference for another candidate.
If any of our readers would like to submit their own endorsement of an SGA Candidate, please email tips [at] midd-blog.com. (A post of this nature would be longer than is generally appropriate to leave in the comments). Alternatively, if you have thoughts on another subject entirely, you can also submit a post to the same address. This option has always been available to our readers and I hope more of you take advantage of this feature, as a few of our readers have already done.
Just about every publication, major or minor, endorses electoral candidates. It’s not like Ryan runs the Midd website or anything. Get over it, Michael.
Sarah F- get a job already and stop posting on midd blog!!!!