We at The Fordham Ram have had to make one of the most difficult decisions imaginable in the wake of United Student Government (USG) elections. This is the first time in recent years that we have been so impressed, so overwhelmed by the possibilities. We are not embellishing when we say that every single candidate had platforms that were so detailed and clearly represented a dedication to improving the Fordham community. Deciding on candidate endorsements has thus proved to divide our editorial staff greatly, almost evenly.
Ultimately, the staff voted to endorse Daniel Stroie, GSB ’17 and Elisha Simon, GSB ’17 as the executive president and vice president, respectively. Stroie’s work managing budget day and following up with clubs that had not received money highly impressed the Ram’s staff, as it marked a clear difference in leadership than in previous years. His work on USG thus far has shown a true commitment to students and clubs in particular. By the same token, Simon’s dynamic in improving communication throughout Gabelli and the overall Gabelli experience are also very impressive. We are proud to be endorsing Fordham students with such promise to be great leaders.
Sebastian Albrecht, FCRH ’17 and Matt Santucci, FCRH ’17 by no means are weak candidates. Their platform of creating a community of inclusiveness for transfer students, international students and commuters is something we find to be of great importance to the Fordham community. We urge Stroie and Simon to incorporate those sorts of initiatives into their own platform if elected executive president and vice president of USG, and to work closely with the dynamic and passionate duo. We see in them true potential to impact campus life in a historically positive way, if allowed.
We endorse Kathryn Susko, FCRH ’17 as VP of Health and Safety due to her experiences on USG and in ROTC that we believe make her a strong leader. Furthermore, recent violence on college campuses causes the Ram staff to prioritize campus safety and protection at this time, which was a major facet of her platform. By the same token, found Catherine Maccaro, FCRH ’17 to be highly impressive and to have excellent ideas regarding an anonymous mental health screening for students and urge Susko to work closely with Maccaro on various mental health initiatives on campus.
The Ram has chosen to endorse Doug Spring, FCRH ’17 for VP of Operations. It was a highly difficult decision as both the platforms they both ran on were so different and yet touched on points so necessary to bringing change on campus. We believe Spring would be an asset due to his past experience in RHA and as a resident assistant and generate greater attendance at club events due to his desire to increase co-programming. However, Brendan Batcheller, GSB ’19, showed real commitment to improving how clubs achieve referendum status aligns with the Ram’s own views and experiences, and we urge Doug incorporate Brendan’s ideas on reforming the referendum process during his time in office.
The Ram chooses to abstain from endorsing either Allison Kilbride and John Kuyat, both FCRH ’19. Both candidates have admirable goals to make the McGinley Center more of a hub of student life, re-instituting Ram bucks, addressing racial bias incidents in a pragmatic way and programming specifically around stress relief. Both candidates would be excellent in their positions and we find we would be happy with either of them in the position of VP of Student Life. We wish them the best of luck in the election.
Stroie and Simon, make true on your promises. If increasing USG’s visibility is your main goal, make real efforts to bring the student body together to support USG’s initiatives and raise awareness for its presence on campus. The Ram is looking to student leaders who want to change the way we see student government, to mitigate a historic culture of apathy pervading the student body and university as a whole. We have faith in you to represent all of us.
