I have served on the WSA for two and a half years, and I have served on the general assembly with both of the candidates running for WSA president. Having worked with Adit and Zach, and because I care intensely about student autonomy, I feel it is essential that I share my experiences with all students, who have the power to elect one candidate to represent our concerns and our aspirations.
Adit initially came across to me as very responsible, and after he was elected as a freshman representative, I spoke on his behalf to help him get appointed to the Educational Policy Committee (EPC). However, his enthusiasm gradually waned. He started showing up late and then missing meetings altogether. I was made aware that he was not following through on his projects on the EPC. In my opinion, he put in the least amount of effort possible as a representative.
This year, I did not serve with Adit on the WSA. I was surprised that he was not on the assembly when I returned from studying abroad. I discovered that he had been asked to resign from the assembly based on his attendance, and that he did so. I was also made aware that he was no longer working as a Resident Advisor; he had been asked to leave because of “inappropriate conduct.”
Adit has told me that he stopped showing up to meetings because he was “frustrated” with the WSA, and that he is running for president to reform some of the things that he was frustrated with. However, I find it concerning that Adit never made the effort to change anything when he was in a position of influence as a student representative.
My experience working with Zach begins back during our freshman year. We were both members of the WSA’s EPC and we also both worked with the Environmental Organizers’ Network (EON) back when it was involved with a lot of campus activism. Together, Zach and I co-authored the Green Energy Resolution, which was passed by the WSA and instigated administrative action culminating in the Fauver dorms being built to meet nationally recognized green building standards (LEED). His sophomore year, Zach served on the search committee that resulted in the hiring of Dean Maria Cruz-Saco, and also served as one of two student representatives to the Faculty Educational Policy Committee. On a more personal level, Zach is always outspoken during WSA meetings and his comments often demonstrate careful consideration and forethought. You can check this claim by scanning the WSA minutes (http://www.wesleyan.edu/wsa/about/minutes/index.htm) and counting the number of times he contributed an idea or a new perspective to a discussion in the general assembly meetings. Returned from studying abroad this fall, Zach has successfully co-authored a statement passed by the WSA demanding that student storage options be kept available; his statement helped reverse the standing policy and reinstate student storage during the summer months.
In my opinion, Adit makes a great first impression, but I have no basis on which to trust him to follow through on his ambitions. Conversing with him on Sunday night, I couldn’t discern any concrete plan of action by which he intended to meet his goals. I understand his wish to reform the WSA; what I don’t understand is why he didn’t do so when he was a member of the assembly, when he had the opportunity to do so. I am also concerned that Adit will be unable to work with the Office of Residential Life from a student government position because of his history of employment there.
From Zach, I have seen reliability, hard work (even on difficult projects with long-term results but a small short-term payoff), and a willingness to commit considerable time to addressing student concerns. And trust me, being the WSA president requires a ridiculous time commitment—it’s precisely the reason I’m not running. Zach takes every issue seriously, and he knows from experience how to accomplish his goals within the Wesleyan system. I encourage all students (yes, even seniors!) to vote at www.wesleyan.edu/wsa/voting beginning at midnight on Tuesday night.
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