Deciding upon the Technique’s endorsement was a long, tiring and sometimes frustrating process. All of the candidates running this year have genuine merits but possess significant flaws as well.
However, the Technique is pleased to announce that Leanne Francis and Apollo Liu are our choice for undergraduate SGA president and vice president this year. Their emphasis on achievable and worthwhile goals along with a focus on individual students made them stand out among the field. This was very important to us in making our decision, as we have previously argued that candidates need clearer goals in platforms.
Some of the stand-out items on Leanne and Apollo’s platform include the concept of introducing class exemptions for graduating seniors in order to allow them to attend career fairs. The plan is within reach and would have a measurable benefit to those it would affect. Also notable is the team’s plan to create a map of vegetarian and vegan options to support those students with different dietary lifestyles. Leanne and Apollo’s ideas regarding feminine hygiene are to be lauded as well, and they do not seem out of SGA’s power to eventually make manifest.
However, Leanne and Apollo were not without error. Their platform items regarding mental health are all already in place or already occur. However, when questioned about this during the debate, the team did acknowledge its failings, which the other tickets did not do. It is our hope that they will take this criticism into consideration.
Sujay Peramanu and Richard Wang’s bid for SGA executive falls short in large part due to their focus on objectives that will likely not come to any meaningful fruition. This includes their plans to increase Parking and Transportation Services’s transparency as well as those to have professors post syllabuses prior to classes beginning.
Yet Sujay and Richard’s platform was not without bright spots — far from it. In fact, choosing not to endorse some of their great ideas, like creating basic skill clinics providing financial advice to students, was very tough. Among other good ideas was their long term plans for partnership with Uber.
Lizzie Lisenby and Connor Brogan place an almost single-minded focus on student organizations. One major issue that the Technique brought up during the debate was their insistence on the “major divide” between student-athletes and the general population of Tech. In our communications with student athletes, the Technique has not seen evidence that this is a significant issue on campus. In fact, interviews with student-athletes for articles in the past have indicated student athletes are generally happy with their place at Tech.
However, it is very unfortunate to lose Lizzie and Connor’s proposed political advocacy plans and revival of the Student Lobby Board. This idea was one of the best mentioned by any of the candidates.
Ultimately, Leanne and Apollo have an edge over the competition. We feel that they will be able to make the most impactful change on Tech’s campus.