The people have spoken. Well, 36 percent of the people have spoken, to be exact. Perhaps this still-low voter turnout reflects the campus opinion of the relatively “blah” nature of this year’s GUSA candidates. Yet the people who did vote did so overwhelmingly for Ryan DuBose (CAS ‘02) and Brian Walsh (CAS ‘02), so the voters must be saying something. We have something to say, too.
The election of DuBose and Walsh was not a poor decision. Both have proven themselves as capable leaders and don’t cause us to worry over what or how they might screw up. And while some may say that they are the same old faces from within GUSA moving up to lead the association with the same old ideas in the same old direction, DuBose and Walsh also have the potential to accomplish much more if they so choose. In their acceptance speeches, the pair not only reiterated many of their campaign promises, but also pledged not to limit their actions to only their own ideas. This is definitely a step in the right direction for the executive ticket whose platform consisted mostly of programming initiatives designed to build community among students. We hope DuBose and Walsh will follow through on their pledge to take a more comprehensive approach to government, as the weakest part of their campaign was their lack of quality proposals for student life beyond glorified pep rallies. Although chicken fingers at the cafeteria and student bartending at Hoya’s are not the most important issues on campus, they do provide proof that the duo is capable of delivering. It is their success on larger issues, such as university-neighborhood relations, club funding and petitioning the incoming president on behalf of students, that will ultimately determine their effectiveness as leaders and representatives of the student body.
Their first test will be in less than a month, when the Yard issue once again rears its head. DuBose and Walsh have not commented extensively on this issue, choosing simply to proclaim their desire for a student government that “students can stand behind,” and suggesting a constitutional convention to examine this issue in greater depth. However, a more substantive plan of action seems to be in order. If they can take a strong stand and find a solution to the problem of student government reform sooner rather than later, their administration will certainly be off to a good start. And this success would surely lead to greater things down the road.
In closing, we offer the following advice to the new executives: Stick to the important issues, listen and deliver on your promises?and then we can talk about reclaiming Georgetown.
