SGA Mid-Year Elections meet the candidates

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In light of Bobby Joe Smith III '09's resignation as Student Government Association (SGA) president last week, students will choose a successor in today's mid-term election to fill three vacant Senate seats. Candidates Hiba Fakhoury '09 and Tik Root '12 both insist that they are most qualified to navigate the SGA through this period of economic hardship and respond to student demands for increased transparency. Be sure to cast your vote and make your opinion count.

TIK ROOT '12

To the Students of Middlebury College,

I am running for President for two very basic, yet important reasons: Firstly, I believe that my term in the SGA as a senator allowed me to see both the potential and the pitfalls of the organization. Yet, I have not been filled with the cynicism against the power of change that I hear from many around me. As a first-year, I would be able to see and follow change for the next four years. I have the unique position of having experienced the College from three different angles. I grew up in Middlebury and was and always will be a "townie." Both my parents are professors here, and my mom worked as a staff member for 25 years, so I've been blessed to see the College through the eyes of both the faculty and staff. Of course, I am currently a student here. The combination of these three perspectives will allow me to successfully and efficiently navigate the competing interests and bureaucracy that is Middlebury College.

My presidential philosophy rests on the premise that the SGA needs to undergo a massive reevaluation of its structure, its purpose and its goals. To do this, all but the most important topics must be put on the back burner. I would start this reevaluation process by immediately holding a meeting with student leaders. Hopefully, this meeting would start the desperately needed debate on students' role in Middlebury's decision making process. After this meeting, I would urge legislation that will begin to move the SGA toward becoming a more effective organization.

There are several initiatives that I believe are important to tackle, alongside the SGA's restructuring. I plan to have the SGA members sign confidentiality agreements, which would allow them to have closed meetings where the administration could candidly discus sensitive issues. I also plan on getting the SGA Web site up and running as soon as possible, so that the students have a way to debate issues. I will also continue to pursue Bobby Joe's work on creating a multi-purpose access card. As president, I also have the honor of sitting on the Budget Oversight Committee. One of my major initiatives would be to convince the committee to authorize bi-weekly reports to the student body. This would give students the tools they need in order to have an educated two-way discussion with the administration.

I will be the first to admit that my opponent has more experience than I. But, over the last few terms, what has experience brought the school? I will, for the remainder of the year, maintain the current Cabinet and Officers, unless I feel a pressing need not to. When I get to choose my own cabinet, it will be a decision I will not take lightly. The people in my cabinet will be the "shakers and movers" of the campus, and together with the senate they will be a forceful vehicle for change. By electing a first-year you are voting not only for the present, but for the future as well and the future is now.

Regardless of outcome, thank you in advance for your continued support.

Tik Root '12

HIBA FAKHOURY '09

Fellow students,

I was very fortunate this year to have served as the SGA's chief of staff. While many students may not be familiar with the organization, I can assure you that in the past year I met the most passionate and hardworking students who strive to make Middlebury a better place every day. SGA members try their best, as a team, to represent the student body as a whole. They work hard to provide daily newspapers, ACTR shuttles to the Snow Bowl and many other services free-of-charge to accommodate the needs of the student body.

This spring, as a senior who has loved Middlebury and been extremely involved here, I am running for President of the SGA for the remainder of the year. As you all know, our campus has been tremendously affected by the recent economic crisis, and unfortunately many big decisions had to be made without significant input from the student body. In the limited time left, and if elected as President, I want to cooperate with senators and cabinet members of the SGA to increase transparency, and allow students to express their opinion and to have a say in what will directly influence their Middlebury experience.

I am sure that a lot of you would agree when I express my frustration with the long lines at the dining hall, the continuous worry about school work, and the lack of communication between members of the student body, and between students and the administration. I will be realistic and admit to you that I will try my best to work on these issues, but we need more than a couple of months, or a few people for our views to be heard. As President of the SGA, I would work my hardest to involve you in the process. To provide the venue for all students to say how much they enjoyed their MOO experience and to collectively come up with a more cost efficient alternative. We are after all, a group of diverse, intelligent, creative, and dedicated students, and it is essential that our input significantly affects the Middlebury that we all care about.

I thank you all in advance for your support and I hope you will take the time someday to e-mail sga@middlebury.edu and tell us about what matters the most to you, and what you would like to see changed.

Sincerely,

Hiba Fakhoury '09