Okay, okay. So maybe you ran unopposed. As did the candidate for most of the other executive jobs. And maybe student reaction to another round of executive board elections has run the gamut from “who cares” to “what’s the AAS?” So what if, for the few students who actually care about the doings of the AAS, the major reason for said concern is the worry that, for some unfathomable reason, the Budgetary Committee will decide not to fund some club event or another. This, perhaps, is to be expected in a year where the most important things the AAS has done have been getting liberal collegiate-types together to talk about diversity and moving out of its room to make way for the Multicultural Center. The important thing, though, is that this is all about to change. The administration of Nick Pastan, campus organizer and activist extraordinaire, is to be a transformational one, restoring the AAS to its role as a transparent, active and responsive body that advocates the interests of the students to the administration, focusing especially on the least fortunate among us.
A word, then, of advice. Think big. As the student body president, you have a bully pulpit to push for worthwhile change. Work for the creation of a campus committee to monitor the school’s investment decisions, to ensure that our endowment management is in line with our basic principles. Encourage the administration to pour more and more money into resources for struggling writers, and to consider innovative solutions to the problem. The ability to write cogently is the sine qua non of success at the College, and the AAS would do well to push the school to make writing help more easily available, if not mandatory, for those who need it. Explore the idea of an off-campus meal plan. While Val serves a purpose in uniting the school community, it would be positive to give more freedom of choice to students, especially to socio-economically disadvantaged ones, who often have to avoid eating out due to budget constraints. These changes would make Amherst more equitable, honorable and rigorous. It is up to you to take the mantle of leadership and pursue them.
Additionally, as the servant of the student body, you should be in constant touch with your constituents. In the last issue of The Student, Peter Tang, the incoming Treasurer, made sound suggestions on how to increase the transparency of the oft-arcane procedures on the Budgetary Committee. He, and you, would do well to follow up on those. Greater understanding of how student organizations get their money can only improve involvement and awareness of AAS doings. The way to do this, and to better publicize the other activities of the Senate, is to regularly publish messages from the AAS executive board in appropriate publications, such as The Student and The Amherst Public. We invite you to write a weekly column in our newspaper next year.
Finally, while you pursue an agenda of change, don’t forget to continue doing the basic things the AAS does well, for which it gets less credit than it, perhaps, deserves. Keep negotiating with Val over operating times and other areas where it needs improvement. Keep fighting for student interests on important committees. Keep sponsoring enjoyable events. In short, while pursuing worthwhile goals, maintain the services that student government is supposed to provide to its constituents.
During election week, there were signs in each dorm advertising your candidacy, saying, “It’s time we demand better.” It is one thing to demand, another to deliver. Use your term in office to advocate to benefit the larger Amherst community, and to increase students’ involvement in their government. If you don’t, we will be writing a similar letter to your successor, this time next spring.
The Student Editorial Board