After all the negative campaigning that prompted a last-minute write-in candidate, we have made a decision for Student Senate elections: RSVP.
Presidential candidate Kyle Triplett and his fellow executive candidates, Roger Jones and Chris Wimsatt, did the proper legwork to build a strong platform. They are realistic and know how to work with the administration because of Triplett’s two years as a student trustee.
Despite its great ideas, FACE was unable to follow through with research, leaving several holes in the party’s platform. Presidential candidate Matthew Wallace had great enthusiasm but lofty goals.
Even though RSVP’s written platform is vague, a more detailed plan was revealed through interviews and debates. Triplett presented a realistic platform with attainable goals.
RSVP hopes to increase student programming using money that already exists. The party also supports a plan to put a sports bar in the first floor of Baker University Center — something Jones already has been working on this year.
Triplett and his executives were already laying groundwork this year for the goals the party hopes to accomplish next year. RSVP also had good ideas for making Student Senate more accessible by holding meetings outside senate’s usual Walter Hall location.
Although we like much of Wallace’s platform, we worry that senate’s focus would be centered on mostly improbable goals such as the opening of Budget Planning Council and student trustee voting rights. Those crusades would push reachable goals to the margins, leaving Student Senate with few accomplishments at the end of the year.
Christopher Wagner, a write-in candidate for president, announced his campaign yesterday, putting him at a huge disadvantage. He lacks a real plan — which is why we can’t endorse him.
We do think that Wallace would make a great addition to senate should RSVP win, along with any of the members of FACE. Wallace’s party comprises student leaders from myriad campus groups that would benefit RSVP’s experienced candidate list.
We do disagree with Triplett and RSVP on keeping Budget Planning Council closed and denying student trustees voting rights, but we understand the reality of accomplishing such feats. However, we urge Triplett to reconsider his stance on Budget Planning Council, because students should have a say in where their money goes.
Although we do not completely agree with RSVP’s platform, it has proven the more experienced and realistic of the parties. Therefore, we endorse RSVP as the right choice in this year’s election.
Endorsements represent the majority opinion of The Post’s executive editors.
