Election season has come, once again, not only to the national stage but locally to the University in the form of Undergraduate Student Government elections.
From April 2 to 5, University undergraduate students can vote online for USG candidates from their respective academic college and residence hall, as well as candidates for at-large and Off-Campus senatorial seats. Shameless plug alert — please vote for yours truly, Matthew Thacker, for off-campus senator if you are an off-campus student.
But the USG candidates that will garner the most attention this election — like every year — are those vying for the USG presidency.
This year, I am proud to say we are fortunate to have two very qualified people running to replace Emily Ancinec as USG president: Tabitha Timbrook and Alex Solis, current USG senators.
On the surface, Solis, a sophomore majoring in sports management, and Timbrook, a junior majoring in political science, have quite a few things in common.
Both have served for two years as senators in USG and both currently chair their respective USG committees; Timbrook chairs the Academic Affairs committee ,while Solis chairs Auxiliary Affairs.
Via interviews by email, both candidates expressed their love for he city and University and their commitment to work for the students.
“I want to be given the chance to be the voice for every undergraduate and be able to hold University administrators accountable,” Solis said.
“Being USG president would provide me with the amazing opportunity to represent the voice of the student body and to continue to make this University the best it can possibly be,” Timbrook said.
The two candidates’ opinions on many of the topics affecting the student body will be on display when they debate later in the month — the time and place of the debate has not been announced yet, but details are expected to be finalized later this week.
Timbrook said the first goal of her presidency would be to “make sure that every student in BG was positively affected by something that USG accomplished. Whether it [is] through school spirit initiatives, green initiatives, revised University policies, etc., my job as president, and number one goal, would be to ensure that the student voice was heard and responded to.”
Solis agrees that responding to the wants and needs of the student population should be the number one job for the new presidential administration.
“If elected, the general goal would to represent the student body and be their voice in everything that I do. The number one goal would be to work to complete our platform every day, be held accountable, and follow through with our campaign promises.”
As with any presidential candidate, the decision to choose a running mate is often the first — and toughest — decision to be made.
“My running mate is David Neely,” Solis said. “And I asked him to be the Vice-Presidential candidate for many reasons … His involvement with his fraternity, him being a resident adviser, his service in USG, and his experiences in Dance Marathon all stood out to me.”
Solis said he and Neely are a team, adding, “Not only is David a good friend, candidate, and teammate, but he is a leader and I learn from him every day.”
“My running mate is Jonathan Zachrich,” Timbrook said. “Jon has three years of experience on USG, has served as the chair of a committee, and has proven his dedication to this University and the student voice. He has worked primarily in student affairs issues: dining, Union renovations, the Learning Commons, etc., which provides a good balance to my experience with academic affairs.”
Timbrook said Zachrich’s “experience, school spirit, and dedication to the students of this University cannot be matched.”
I believe regardless of who is elected USG President in April, the University is the real winner because either way we will have a USG President who truly cares about the wants and needs of the students.
You can do your own homework about Solis and Timbrook before deciding who to cast your vote for by visiting their Facebook groups:
Solis/Neely page: www.facebook.com/pages/SolisNeely-For-USG-PresidentVP-2012/188824557899060
Timbrook/Zachrich page: www.facebook.com/pages/Tabitha-Timbrook-and-Jon-Zachrich-for-USG-President-and-VP/240579579368289?ref=ts
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