Split decision, but focused goal prevails

By our opinion

Amidst their busy schedules in the middle of campaign season, candidates for Associated Students president -- Sean Brachvogel, Andrea Carrera and Nicholas Duston -- found time to meet with The Santa Clara's editorial board.

All three candidates brought something unique and valuable to the table, hoping to serve the ever-complex student body in different ways. We are assured that all three would serve our community effectively as the president of AS.

Deciding our endorsement was a difficult process. In the midst of a lengthy debate, we decided to sleep on the matter. Returning to the issue the following day, we systematically weighed out the specific strengths and weaknesses of each candidate. In the end, we arrived at a split vote, with a majority in support of Brachvogel. A minority voted Carrera.

This being said, all three candidates have their strong points. Our endorsement reflects the set of objectives we would like to see accomplished in the next year. These objectives may not align with yours, and it is important to research each platform individually.

One of the main points of Duston's platform is cooperation. He elaborated on this point, stressing the importance of dialogue between Santa Clara's student organizations. Duston seemed especially concerned with the issue of school spirit. However, we're unsure if some of his goals, like having a Homecoming week at the start of fall quarter, would actually raise spirit. Furthermore, this has been tried by previous administrations.

Brachvogal's platform was certainly the most focused of the three, and in a way, the most visionary. The cornerstone of his platform was the implementation of a medical amnesty policy in which students would not be punished for calling Santa Clara's Emergency Medical Technicians seeking medical attention in an alcohol-related situation.

We support Brachvogal's bold desire to create tangible change that will serve the school long after his would-be tenure is over. But as well-intentioned as his plan is, we fear that it may be too focused, too specialized -- and may interfere with his attending to the school's other needs.

Andrea Carrera impressed us with her genuine approach, and though she has the most AS experience of the three candidates, she did not seem indoctrinated by the system. She talked about building off of past progress, because, in Carrera's words, "a year is not a lot of time."

Her main running platform SCUnite, would bring together the eight charted student organizations to meet at the beginning of the year to establish goals. This approach could be a tangible way to make collaboration -- an idea often discussed -- actually possible. However, we are not sure if collaboration between these organizations will amount to much since each has its own unique mission.

Deciding our endorsement was not an easy process, but ultimately, the majority of the editorial board concluded that Brachvogel is the best choice. How many AS presidents have wanted to accomplish something, but were unsure of just what, and ended up accomplishing nothing concrete? Brachvogel's determination for one goal of medical amnesty is significant. However, we cannot stress enough the importance of doing your own research. Consider your objectives. What do I want in my AS president?