As most of the student body knows, it’s Student Senate election season. The tendency in these elections is to vote for who your friends tell you to. However, I was hoping that the student body would cast a more critical eye this year.
FACE’s main platform point concerns advocating for students to have more input in where money is allocated at Ohio University.
Our competitor, RSVP, thinks that students do not want open budget meetings and voting rights for students on the Board of Trustees.
RSVP thinks that students would rather commit to a $100,000 per year concert expenditure than have more say in how their money is spent.
Students, is that the case? Would you really rather see second-string artists such as B.o.B. perform at the Convocation Center once per year in exchange for allowing OU administrators to continue making financial choices behind closed doors (without student input) that result in cuts to things such as club sports, diversity centers and academics?
And that is assuming that President Roderick McDavis even gives the green light for the $100,000 expenditure. It is far more likely that the concert is one of many campaign promises that will fall by the wayside if RSVP gets elected.
In terms of probability, it is almost certain that Senate-insider tickets such as RSVP have no intention of even trying to keep the promises they make while campaigning. Consider SOUND’s platform last year: Out of dozens of their rhetorical promises, you’d be hard-pressed to find one they ended up fulfilling.
It was the same with iOU the previous year. And the year before that, Student Senate President Michael Adeyanju went on record in The Athens News as siding with McDavis over general student opinion.
This is why the complaint that Student Senate doesn’t do anything is so commonly heard: because we, as students, keep getting fooled by shiny and stupid campaign promises that don’t end up getting fulfilled, and electing executive teams that would rather cozy up to administrators for a letter of recommendation than try to actually amplify student voices on campus.
If you’re involved with Greek Life, FACE represents you (seven of our candidates are involved in Greek Life).
If you’re environmentally concerned, FACE represents you (we have the president of the Sierra Student Coalition as a candidate).
If you’re an athlete, FACE represents you (our vice president candidate and three other candidates are student athletes).
If you’re here to get a good education and have a decent time while doing it, FACE represents you.
If you are a student, FACE represents you.
If you’re happy with not having a say in budget cuts and how your money is spent, RSVP represents you.
All that I ask is that you, as a student, compare FACE and RSVP with a critical eye and make an informed decision. Open up VoteFACE.com and VoteRSVP.com in two separate windows.
Look in the platforms for things such as specificity and rhetoric. FACE has specific resolutions ready to back up all of the major policy recommendations we’re proposing (RSVP has vague bullet points such as “Support Academic Support Services”).
Compare the diversity of FACE with RSVP and its executives (two-thirds of which are white male Republicans). Finally, consider the RSVP quote, “the OU budget is not something students care about” and question whether the status quo is something you want to perpetuate.
Concerning Student Senate, our motto is “Your FACE here,” not “McDavis’ face here.”
See you at the polls May 18 and 19.
Matthew Wallace is the Student Senate presidential candidate for FACE.
