STANTON WINS SGA PRESIDENCY

Author: Dan Stevens

Following a hotly debated election last week, College administrators announced Friday that Alex Stanton and Annie Williams, both '07, will become Middlebury's next generation of top student leaders. Stanton and Williams, the new SGA President and Student Co-Chair of Community Council (SCCOCC) respectively, triumphed last Thursday and Friday in an election that garnered record voter turnout, a crowd of opponents and its fair share of controversy.

Stanton defeated first-year Alina Levina to become SGA President for the 2006-2007 academic year, and already knows what he wants to accomplish.

"I think I am going to focus on implementing the Safe-Rides program first," he asserted. "After that, it's tough to say. The list of issues on my platform would provide a rough framework for my agenda, but I am also a firm believer that the issues important to the student body in general ought to dwarf those important to me personally."

Williams was also victorious, defeating Ryan Tauriainen '08 and Mike Tierney '09.5 for SCCOCC. Williams also believes implementing the Safe-Rides program will be her top priority.

"Taking an aggressive stance on the issue of drunk driving is a moral imperative.," she noted. "That being said, the successful implementation of the Safe-Rides program is my top priority for next year."

Election Day proved more dramatic than usual in response to controversy surrounding an unauthorized insert into The Middlebury Campus. Julia Bredrup '07, who had read The Campus online Wednesday evening, distributed a letter inside already-on-stands issues of Campus at various distribution points concentrating in the dining halls and the library. Bredrup's letter explained her actions as a response to what she called "unbalanced SGA election coverage." She said her main concern was with the general one-sided nature of the opinions section of the newspaper.

Bredrup's flyer was an illegal addition to Campus property and an abridgement of the College's restrictions on distributing pamphlets.

The inserted letter directly responded to a printed submission in the Opinions section by Viraj Assar '07 that critized the performance of Stanton at the April 15 SGA debates, but Bredrup misattributed Assar's submission as an editorial.

"Since only 30 students actually attended the debates, I worried that the student body would take Viraj's claims at face value," Bredrup said. "I wanted to prevent that from happening. Although I obviously disagreed with what Viraj said and how he said it, if that is what he felt like he needed to say, he had every right to do so."

The Campus Opinions policy requires that submissions be sent in by 5 p.m. on Tuesday afternoons to be considered for publication.

Stanton said the tardy editorial debate had little impact on his campaign, but he was happy that Bredrup provided a "balanced point-of-view" to assuage Assar's scathing submission.

"I am grateful that someone took the initiative to respond to such a biased piece," said Stanton. "Many of the points she raises are those I would have brought up myself, had I known that the piece would be released without my side of the story anywhere in the paper."

Adding to the unique quality of this year's elections, many students noticed Stanton and Williams campaigning together throughout the week. Although both candidates noted the moral support of this tactic, they asserted that they retained their unique platforms proposed for each respective office.

"Annie and I pooled our efforts for one very large reason: moral support. Annie and I urged each other on and forced ourselves to get out there. Our cooperation made it easier to get out and talk to students," said Stanton.

"Alex Stanton and I did not have the same platform, so we never viewed ourselves as a 'ticket,' or anything of the sort. During the campaign we did spend a lot of time together, but really only in support of one another," Williams responded.

Outgoing SGA President Eli Berman '07.5 noted the importance this connection could have in the future. "I want to congratulate Alex and Annie on being elected to President and SCCOCC, respectively," said Berman. "Communication between the people in those positions can only lead to a strong SGA and a promising year."

Last week's elections also saw yet another twist in the form of several flyers on campus urging students to vote to abstain from the elections if they were unsatisfied with the candidates and/or electoral procedure.

Austin Levihn-Coon '07.5 initiated a "third party" campaign via all-student e-mail because of what he saw as "an extreme disconnect between the SGA and the student body." Levihn-Coon did not feel the candidates represented the student interests and was worried about the apathy that runs rampant among students at Middlebury.

"I don't think it is appropriate for students to vote for a president they know nothing about," he said. Levihn-Coon's campaign included notifying students of the option to abstain from voting and insisting on transparency of the results. Although neither of these goals have, as of yet, been brought to fruition, Levihn-Coon does believe that "awareness was raised."

Berman acknowledged the desire to release the vote tallies, but he also expressed reservation about following through with this option. Berman explained that it has been SGA procedure to not release election results because of the possible disparity in the number of votes secured by opponents. The SGA does not have a complete monopoly on the election process - the SGA Constitution provides a check by requiring Dean of Student Affairs Ann Hanson to certify the election results.

Student response to the SGA elections revealed mixed feelings. Many found that the "campaign to abstain" lacked resonance. "I have heard a lot of people say that instead of advocating abstention, people should run if they aren't happy," said Molli Freeman-Lynde '08.5. "I think the candidates for the most part relied on catch phrases and the middle school popularity contest feel of the whole election," she continued.

Other students expressed confidence in the elected officials. "Drawing on past experience, I think Alex Stanton will be an organized, and efficient leader of the student body," said Wonnacott Commons Senator Alpheus Chan '08.

Of course, others expressed the apathy that many students seem to feel regarding most SGA events. "I didn't pay much attention to the elections," Jared Bean '09 commented.

Stanton and Williams are both looking forward to starting their terms in their respective offices. Williams looks to attend the remaining SGA and Community Council meetings this year, and she also plans to work with J.S. Woodward '06, 2005-2006 SCCOCC, and other past members to acquire the knowledge necessary for the position. Stanton hopes to attend as many student group meetings as possible and gauge student input as he prepares to take the reigns from Berman. Both look forward to an exciting school year with promising improvements for the College.