On Monday night, Associated Student Government presidential candidates Matt Bellassai and Austin Young met at Fisk Hall to spar over all the issues you care about. But even though your opinion about ASG reform is certainly a legitimate reason to cast your vote for a certain candidate, everyone knows another great way to choose a candidate is his sense of style.
Take John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama. You can’t think that their pristine sense of style didn’t help them win the 1960 and 2008 presidential elections, respectively. If you really don’t know who to vote for on Wednesday, just go with the candidate you think is a nattier dresser. Here’s the lowdown on how the candidates dressed for the debate, and a few hastily drawn conclusions about what that means for their impending presidency.
Matt Bellassai:
The Medill junior touted his experience in ASG as why he should be elected. His logic is that since he knows the inner workings of ASG, he’s the best candidate to bring the change and new ideas it needs. But is he really about change? If we are to base our answer on his shirt-tie combination, we’d probably have to say no.
Bellassai sported a blue shirt with a gold and blue striped tie – nothing wrong with the combination, but nothing too eccentric either. Maybe a sharper color, like a pink or red, would have conveyed his message of change a bit better.
That being said, nothing is critically wrong with Bellassai’s outfit. His shirt could fit a little bit neater, and his tie could be a bit straighter. Yes, the shirt-tie combination read a little dull. And a lighter-colored pair of khaki pants may have worked a bit better with his chosen shirt. But his style is good enough as to not lose your vote.
Austin Young:
The ASG outsider and Weinberg junior was a bit bolder with his attire – a checkered dress shirt with a skinny tie. He also rocked the blazer, a nice touch for a presidential debate. Young has marketed himself as someone who can bring change to ASG because of his unfamiliarity with the organization, and the somewhat unconventional outfit reflected this philosophy.
However, Young’s shirt – while a bit more eccentric than Bellassai’s – does not appear to be quite as dressy as the other candidate’s shirt. So while Young might be an outsider, those who like a formal president may lean toward Bellassai.
But keep in mind that Young did sport a blazer with his shirt and tie, which is always a nice touch. And his blazer probably makes up for the less formal dress shirt.