Every year at this time, when ASG elections roll around, most of us roll our eyes. We wonder why anyone would expect us to care which of two preening, self-aggrandizing resume padders would get a title that had no powers or responsibilities that we were aware of. For most of us, ASG elections were a waste of time and chalk, and distracted from the more effective and interesting projects and campaigns that want little or nothing to do with ASG. With almost no connection to ASG, the Living Wage Campaign organized with workers to win wage and benefit increases that are unprecedented in university food service. The only thing resembling help ASG ever offered in this fight was a resolution supporting our struggle over two years ago, and it's hard for most Northwestern students to see anything helpful coming out of ASG.
That attitude makes our support of Dan Tully and Jeziel Jones for ASG all the more surprising to us. Unlike nearly every other ASG candidate we've seen, these two get that students are doing their most important work outside of ASG. They also recognize that ASG is at its most effective when it supports students' work and tries to foster connections between students and allow them to thrive. Two years ago, right before Dan, dismayed by the Senate's inertia and lack of direction, resigned his Senate seat, he introduced the Living Wage resolution, gave an impassioned speech in its support, and ensured its passage. Dan and Jeziel know, like all of us, that ASG is wildly ineffective and self-absorbed, and where other candidates would spend their year in office talking about a problem and never do anything about it, Dan and Jeziel will fight their way out of 3rd floor Norris and actually get something done for the students outside ASG.
Will Bloom, Weinberg junior and Kellyn Lewis, Weinberg senior
Living Wage Campaign Co-Directors
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A lot of people are defined by their involvement on campus: “Oh, he’s on Mayfest," “She’s an engineer," “He’s a computer science major with a theater minor," and, for myself, “I’ve been in ASG for four years." Select few are able to dedicate themselves to a cause without letting it define them, and Victor Shao is one of those people. Anyone who knows Victor has seen him working on or talking about Camp Kesem, but he doesn’t let that involvement limit his identity or actualization in other areas.
This is an important trait for an ASG president—dedication to a cause is good, but one’s name can never become synonymous with a single objective. Victor has the managerial prowess to avoid these traps, and can effectively steer ASG in good direction without letting any goals blind him to students' ongoing needs. Brad, similarly, has the leadership traits that will allow him to play an integral part in the inner workings of ASG and serve on the exec board. Victor and Brad are a strong team who, as president and vice president, would serve the Northwestern student body well.
Wilson Funkhouser, Weinberg senior
Former Speaker of the Senate, former ASG exec board member