Some students believe that campus change belongs to the activists who tote bags full of duct tape and demands. Many overlook the fact that the Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) has addressed real change in the past few months: dining, double beds in senior houses, registration, and the search for the Dean of Diversity. With elections for 2006-2007 WSA President, Vice President, and class representatives beginning, students have the opportunity to select leaders to represent their voices. It is critical that this influential group has solid leadership and experience, which is why the Argus supports Zach Kolodin ’07 for WSA President.
Kolodin’s experiences within the WSA and other student groups, as well as his relationship with the administration, give him the necessary background for the position. We are confident that he will continue to create beneficial policies across the board, reflecting his past accomplishments. Although we endorse Kolodin, we recognize the call for WSA reform expressed by his opponent Adit Shah ’08. We encourage Shah and others to challenge internal WSA issues and represent student criticisms of the organization and the administration. The job of every WSA member includes the key ingredients of representing students and informing them of what the WSA is doing.
However, after a WSA Presidential Candidate debate that was attended by 25 students, one can ask if students understand the value of the WSA. It seems that the Assembly’s existence is plagued by student apathy, with few students running for election and low voting numbers in recent class elections. Only 24 students voted for the winner of the election for Senior Class Treasurer, a pitiful representation of student voices. Among many reasons, we guess that the lack of voters is due to laziness, not realizing the significance of the WSA, the belief that the candidates are all the same, or simply because it is not mandatory for students to vote.
Students should realize that, at the very least, the Student Budgetary Committee of the WSA controls hundreds of thousands of dollars for programs and student groups. We would like to use the proverbial saying encouraging people to “get out there and vote,” but it’s actually easier than that. Voting for WSA candidates only involves clicking on a link and taking a few minutes away from the morning facebook routine. Take a few minutes to read the candidates’ statements on pages 8-9 first. So next year when students applaud or complain about the efforts of the WSA, we will all know that we, as a community, were responsible for installing its leaders.
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