Two worthy candidates, one choice
By Editorial
With Associated Students elections less than a week away, The Santa Clara editorial board sat down with presidential candidates Austin Woody and Pat Befort to hear their ideas and vision for the AS presidency.
In the past, The Santa Clara has made a formal endorsement for president. However, we are not doing so this year because Bobby Philbrook, Austin Woody's vice presidential running mate, is a staff member of TSC.
Still, we will hopefully provide you with a guide to help you decide which candidate will represent you best next year as AS president.
Lucky for students, both candidates are strong. But it might be hard for voters to separate the two. In the interview, they often seemed more like running mates than opponents. This race won't be the Celebrity Death Match many are hoping for. Instead of vicious opponents, this race is between friendly faces.
In their interview, Woody and Befort both expressed an enthusiasm and willingness to dive into the AS presidency. They conveyed a genuine desire to be advocates for students and get students' voices heard.
In fact, both candidates said that being a voice for students was the most important job they would have as president, along with making students more aware of what is going on.
Being a student voice isn't the only thing the two candidates agree on -- their platforms are remarkably similar.
Woody's platform says he and running mate Bobby Philbrook want to ensure students' opinions are heard, to increase school spirit and raise awareness of sexual assault. Befort's platform, along with his vice presidential candidate Jamie Nally, is to make the rest of students feel like they are being heard, improve student involvement and continue working on club sports.
Woody said in the interview regarding his plans to use tradition as a way to increase school spirit, "If (students) are really proud to be a part of this university, it will increase student involvement."
Woody was specifically interested in starting an intramural championship football game against other schools, as well as bringing back homecoming.
Befort said he'd like to see a more active way to get students involved, rather than receiving e-mail after e-mail of upcoming events. He suggested implementing a door-to-door method of informing students of what's going on around campus.
"I want to be the students' voice, and I have absolutely no problem putting in hours upon hours of work to make sure that their voice is heard," Befort said.
While there are subtle differences in their approaches, neither campaign stands out for bringing new ideas to the table.
For example, when the two were asked about improving diversity on campus, neither had a plan to do more than "work with the MCC." Neither candidate discussed taking on an alcohol policy that is unpopular with some students or finding a better way to work with neighbors on noise violations.
Both of these candidates are qualified and ready to take on the job should they be elected. However, just being "the voice of the students," is not enough. To be an effective president, both candidates must find their own voice to stand up to an administration that isn't always responsive to student concerns.
As the winner will undoubtedly realize, one year may not be enough time to accomplish all that they want. But it is enough time to get the ball rolling and set the tone for future student leaders. Befort and Woody certainly have their work cut out for them.