The race for Student Association executive vice president features three candidates who each have a year’s experience in the SA and have participated in a variety of other campus activities. Unfortunately, no candidate clearly stands out above the rest. Each candidate has some good ideas for new initiatives and stresses communication. But no candidate has a “big idea” to jumpstart the SA. For a job that only really requires the ability to manage diverse personalities and keep Senate meetings running smoothly, Derek Grosso is at the top of a mediocre list.
Grosso has represented the School of Business and Public Management as an undergraduate senator this year. But unlike other candidates, he doesn’t have a long record of sponsoring legislation. His aim is to make the SA a representative body and not a political entity. That is one of the reasons he is not a part of any of this year’s “tickets” – he’s not seeking to be part of a political movement, he just wants to get more people involved in student life.
Grosso seems to realize the SA’s limits. Many times the SA can only support ideas and policies; only rarely can it spur change. Its greatest power is its ability to keep students informed and to advocate student concerns. Students do not need an executive vice president full of religious fervor for various social causes.
The other candidates – Caity Leu and Cat Sadler – have intriguing ideas, including making the student group allocation process more student-friendly, re-establishing the SA’s student advocacy service and focusing on campus security issues. Next year’s SA leaders should seriously consider their issues. But executive vice president is not the best position from which to launch aggressive legislation.
Grosso is a level-headed candidate who will run the Senate most effectively. In a year with a dearth of “great” issues, Grosso is at the top of an average set of candidates for executive vice president.