By Wyeth Larson
What has happened to politics at UP? Recent campaigning has discouraged many voters; lies, slander, and generally insincere campaigning have become the norm. At the candidate debate last week and in his article in The Beacon, Dan Rhine, a presidential candidate, fabricated ASUP Senate committees and made grossly wrong statements to embellish his résumé.
First, lets get the facts right.
1) While no candidate has directly claimed endorsement by the ASUP executive board it is important to clarify the ASUP executive board and its members have not endorsed any candidate, on any level.
2) According to ASUP several senators, there is no such thing as the Capital Improvements Fund Committee which Mr. Rhine claimed to be a part of at the debate.
3) EVERY Senator has handled all of the money for the student body. All budget allocations for clubs must be passed by the entire senate. (On a side note, it is not the president's job to work with money: that is the job of the treasurer).
4) Senators are not only allowed to keep in contact with their constituents, it is their job to do so. If a senator is not, that is a reflection on their dedication and performance, not on the system currently in place for ASUP. All of this information is easily accessible on the ASUP webpage.
Although roughly 25 percent of Americans do embellish their resumes according to the Rutgers University career services center, students running for student body positions should be required to honestly represent their experience and commitment to the student body. This would not be difficult to enforce; most anyone on senate or on ASUP caught the discrepancies. Due to their positions, they are not able to refute such blatant fallacies.
Another concern many students should voice, is that of experience and connection. Connections within the administration get things done for the students.
As an organizing member of Focus the Nation, I commend David Gregg on his dedication to the job of ASUP president, and have first-hand knowledge of how much his good relationships with administrators help change to happen on this campus.
When I posed the question about relationships within the administration and getting things done on campus to the presidential candidates, Kyle Bunch said he feels closest to Fr. Tom Doyle, who would help get student input for development of campus. Paul Arnautoff honestly and accurately stated he did not have those connections.
While I absolutely respect his openness, I do think they are important, and I think it reflects a lack of experience which would be detrimental in his role as president if elected. Again, however, Mr. Rhine stated his connections with the head of athletics and Fr. Bill.
These are great connections to have with two fantastic men in the administration. But neither is truly involved with the day-to-day events in students' lives; it is simply not their job, meaning this connection for him is not as important as it may seem, in the arena of a president.
I realize this article will be coming out after the elections, but if no candidate gets 51 percent of the vote, there will be a runoff. Given the close race between three candidate pairs, a runoff is very likely.
I urge anyone who is voting to make sure they are voting for a candidate with experience and with integrity, and for this, Kyle Bunch and Allison Able are the best candidates. Furthermore, their commitment is incredible. Both have dropped all other commitments, Kyle even opted not to be an RA next year in the event he won the election. Remember, students who prove commitment to other students, and ability to lead will make the best leaders. Vote accordingly.
Wyeth Larson is a junior ?biology major
