Find out which candidates the Campus endorses for SGA President and SCOCC

Pragmatism and optimism abound — and sometimes clash — in this year’s elections SGA and Community Council elections. For each of the posts, run-off elections begin today and run until Friday at noon. The Campus endorses Riley O’Rourke ’12 for SGA President and Kevin Broussard ’12 for Student Co-Chair of Community Council.

Serving as SGA President this year, O’Rourke has made good on many of his campaign pledges from the 2010 election season in implementing a more convenient airport shuttle system effective last fall and providing funding for additional break buses to transport students to New York City, Boston and, in the future, Montreal. The SGA’s notable achievements this year, including funding a small gym in Ross Commons, pushing a successful initiative to add an additional reading day during finals, to fund and reinstitute Outdoor Introduction for New Kids (OINK) and a trough of other notable achievements are a testament to O’Rourke’s ability to effectively translate the concerns of the student body into action. The relationships he has established with College administrators and the familiarity with administrative proceedings he developed during 2010-2011 will also serve his presidency well in 2011-2012. With the unique opportunity to re-elect the SGA President for a second term, the student body can expect continuity and maximum efficiency effective immediately upon O’Rourke’s re-election.

Broussard has demonstrated that he is the right person for the position of SCOCC for 2011-2012. His platform is extensive; his plans to try to include students on the College’s Board of Trustees and the Educational Affairs Committee — policies that currently exist at Middlebury’s peer institutions — reflect his overall commitment to more meaningful student government. Reforming the judicial appeals committee, which currently excludes some members from voting on appeals cases, also ranks among his most important initiatives. Additionally, the emphasis on punishment in the current judicial process, Broussard believes, results in recidivism rather than a learning experience for individuals and the College community following Honor Code infractions.

Broussard’s platform for Community Council is quite ambitious. We do not necessarily recommend that he narrow his goals for the next year, only that he assess which of his objectives he can reasonably achieve. His opponent, Janet Rodrigues ’12, seemed to have a better grasp of what the SCOCC can actually accomplish, but she provided a less detailed platform, favoring a more open-ended approach to the position. The goals Rodrigues did mention focused on an accountable student body, and our main concern was that though she emphasized her willingness to talk to students, she identified the administration as her main gauge of student interest. Broussard mentioned several discussions he had already had with different sub-sets of the student population, and his goals, though numerous, seem to engage more actively with students’ interests.

While we do not endorse O’Rourke’s opponent, Dane Verret ’12, for SGA President we absolutely endorse his platform, and we think that his goals might be better accomplished in tandem with the SGA, but not contained within the SGA. Verret aspires to a campus unified and empowered; his speech to the editorial board was moving and his call for mutual understanding among students of all backgrounds and identities resonated with every member. His goals are larger and arguably more important than O’Rourke’s, but we believe the SGA presidency would not provide the outlet or forum Verret needs to launch what would essentially be a school-wide social movement. We feel the position of SGA President, while one of leadership, is also one of service to the student body, and following up on the needs of students might ultimately get in the way of Verret’s mission to make his vision of student unity a reality.

We endorse O’Rourke and Broussard primarily because of the former’s experience and the latter’s breadth of knowledge regarding those agenda items he proposes. In the end, only one person may occupy each office, but all members of this community can contribute to forming a stronger, more unified and diverse environment. You can begin, simply enough, by voting.