To the Northwestern community:
It has been my pleasure to serve the students of this university this past year as the vice president of the Associated Student Government. Being able to serve as the vice president has been a privilege and indeed something I will never forget.
In these past weeks, I ran for ASG president. I ran for president for many reasons, among them increasing efficiency in ASG, better helping student groups attain proper representation, but most importantly, I ran because I felt that ASG can be a body that really does help students on a day-to-day basis. The Associated Student Government has long been plagued with a negative image on campus, and in some respects it deserves this image. It does do things, however, and let me tell you that having served as ASG vice president this past year, the body can do a tremendous amount of good for students; often, though, this power, if I may call it that, is underutilized.
The recent election was a great chance to inform students that ASG can make a difference. More than half of the student body voted in this election. I want to wish our newly elected ASG President Mike McGee, along with Thomas Smithburg, the ASG vice president-elect, my sincere best wishes. I hope that Mike and his team can carry out ASG’s mission statement and indeed positively affect the daily lives of Northwestern students. Mike has a long record of commitment to the university, and I look forward to his success as ASG president.
The recent event involving Mr. Safdari was disappointing. I hope that the Associated Student Government will set safeguards in place to ensure that its officers (or newly elected officers) exemplify the principles the organization sets forth. I would also encourage the Associated Student Government to set up safeguards to ensure that incidences like last week’s email do not occur again. Every one of us makes mistakes, but when holding an elected office, one has a responsibility to not act simply on impulses.
I want to close by speaking directly to students. The Associated Student Government can and should do much for you. Often, though, the leadership does not carry out its mission properly by wrapping itself up in bureaucracy, which then leads to an overwhelming amount of inefficiency. I want to sincerely wish our new ASG president and his team the best of luck in this coming year, and I look forward to hearing of their success.
Sincerely,
Bill Pulte
Current ASG Vice-President
ASG Presidential Candidate