The future AS

By Editorial

Once again, Santa Clara is gearing up for the season of sidewalk chalk campaigns as a new batch of electoral hopefuls vie for positions in the Associated Students offices.

However, the new regime will have some mighty big shoes to fill. This year's AS has accomplished much of what it set out to do, to the credit of its dynamic leadership.

For instance, after a seven-alarm fire razed several classrooms at Buchser Middle School this winter, they organized a charity ball as part of their pledge to assist the unfortunate school. All told, the money raised by the ball made up the bulk of Santa Clara's $5,000 donation to the unfortunate school.

In addition to philanthropic pursuits, AS has also instituted a Mobile Desk, a floating piece of office furniture intended to make the student leaders more accessible to their undergraduate public. This desk also provides valuable information for students seeking temporary employment through the "Got Work" program, which seeks to match starving students with locals and business owners. This program is one of their many unheralded efforts to improve student-neighbor relations and alleviate community tensions. With some luck, things can get better.

The candidates for next year's student government look promising â€" we just hope they adhere to their platform promises. The plans of the president and vice president hopefuls include a revival of Cabs-on-Campus, online club registration, a more "upper classmen friendly" Bronco atmosphere and a centralized campus calendar.

These are grand ideas, so we hope they aren't delusions of grandeur.

However, if we expect the future AS officers to carry on in the same vein as this year's bunch, the student body needs to live up to its end of the bargain.

This year we've had several occasions to be proud of Associated Students. The least we can do is vote.