Three campaigning for AS presidency
By Richard Nieva
Elections for next year's student body president are approaching, and three tickets will be on next Tuesday's ballot.
The candidates -- Megan Diss with running mate Ben Childs, Casey Elder with Caroline Morrissey and Rachel Manfre with Umang Desai -- all made their appeals at Associated Students' Meet the Candidates event on Monday, moderated by current Associated Students Vice President Bobby Philbrook.
Diss is running with the campaign slogan, "embracing tradition, transition and students," and she mentioned one of her goals is securing the fiscal responsibility of AS.
Currently an AS senator, Diss' platform would include instituting a fall homecoming game to set the tone for incoming freshmen, facilitating a game-day atmosphere and helping clubs to raise money. Childs characterized the ticket as "productively questioning the status quo."
"A lot of our ideas come from students who say, 'Santa Clara does a good job of taking our money, but we don't get anything back other than an education,' " she said, adding that she wants to help Santa Clara give back to the student body.
Elder also has a platform devoted to off-campus students, but he said his goal is to unite these students with those living on campus, in order to build a more meaningful interaction between the two groups.
Aware of having the least AS experience of the three, Elder is depending on his approachability and the fact that he and Morrissey are running as a "package deal," he said.
"In all honesty, I struggled my first two years here. I did the whole college thing. Santa Clara gave me a second chance," he said, adding that he can relate to troubled students and would be the perfect liaison between the student body and administration.
Manfre is running with a platform based on increased involvement and visibility for students, hoping to improve relations between students who live off campus and the permanent residents who live in the neighborhoods surrounding the university campus, she said.
With three years of AS experience -- while touting her status as "the sole girl on AS" -- she is an advocate for the "Be Heard" campaign, which gives students a chance to voice opinions to AS and the administration.
Manfre said her strong points are her passion for both AS and students.
"Working with AS, I've been able to show students opportunities that have kept them at Santa Clara," she said.
Because the winner of the election must win by 25 percent of the vote, Philbrook took the podium between speeches to urge students to vote not only once, but potentially twice, in a likely run-off election between the top two candidates.
The three will square off at a public debate tonight at The Bronco at 5 p.m.
Contact Richard Nieva at (408) 554-4546 or rnieva@scu.edu.