Rebecca McKinsey • Staff Writer • rm279109@ohio.edu
Campaigning for this year's Student Senate elections kicks off today, pitting two tickets whose executive candidates are all current members of Student Senate against each other.
City and County Affairs commissioner Emily Hanford will take on Academic Affairs commissioner Jesse Neader for the senate's top job.
Hanford, who also has served as a senate intern and South Green senator in her three years in the senate, sits atop the Prepare to Engage, Act and Respond ticket. Neader, whose previous experience includes time as an intern as well as a West Green senator, will lead the SOUND party.
Candidates will have 30 days to woo student voters before the May 20 election, which will be the first time in recent memory all candidates for executive positions are current senate members.
Five current senate members are running on the P.E.A.R. ticket, including vice presidential candidate Andrew Wade, who is currently senate's vice commissioner for Residence Life, and treasurer candidate Molly O'Brien, currently an at-large senator for University Life and vice commissioner of the Student Activities Commission.
The SOUND ticket boasts 12 current student senate members, including vice president candidate Matthew Beddingfield, currently the Scripps College of Communication senator, and treasurer candidate Patty Roberts, senate's chief of staff.
Roberts is the roommate of The Post's associate editor, Ryan Dunn, and copy chief, Natalie McGee.
Two years ago, Neader and Hanford ran side-by-side on the Ability and Accountability ticket, and both graduate college senator candidates, SOUND's Erin Dame and P.E.A.R.'s John Calhoun, ran unsuccessful bids for vice president in 2008 and 2009 respectively.
SOUND is not an acronym, but rather is meant to represent the ideas of a sound government, letting students sound off and making sound decisions, Neader and Beddingfield explained.
In the coming years
there is a difficult budget climate so what (SOUND) means to us is that there is a lot of unrest; there are a lot of things that aren't solid Neader said. So we want a sound government ... let students have a voice.
Beddingfield added that the SOUND ticket will center on four tenets: preservation, fiscal responsibility, advocacy and quality interactions.
Roberts said the SOUND ticket, if elected, will hold regular meetings with the other constituent senates - Graduate Student Senate, Faculty Senate, Classified Senate and Administrative Senate - as well as Athens residents.
While the SOUND campaign is centered on financial responsibilities and improving communication between constituent senates, P.E.A.R. candidates said they want to encourage more student involvement on campus, especially among first- and second-year students.
Overall our platform is about service - our service to the students
students' service to the community
and how that all ties together
Hanford said.
O'Brien added she will create a universitywide calendar to make information about events held by student organizations and individual colleges more accessible.
Other goals of the P.E.A.R. ticket include promoting community outreach, restructuring Student Senate, guaranteeing affordable education and improving OU's national image.
Everyone knows we're a party school
not (that) we have one of the best sports management programs or best journalism programs in the country
Wade said. We want our identity to be known for our scholastic achievements and not our drinking achievements.
Current Student Senate President Robert Leary predicts that this year's campaign will garner greater voter turnout.
I know that there are two groups that are running
and a lot have Student Senate people on them
Leary said. Last time this happened - my freshman year - there was a high turnout. Hopefully more students will be voting (this year).
