v 4A - Wednesday, March 21, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com C l e 4R17C4tgan at KEVIN MERSOL-BARG W OurMichigan is your Michigan Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com ASHLEY GRIESSHAMMER and ANDREW WEINER JOSH HEALY EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS MANAGING EDITOR JOSEPH LICHTERMAN EDITOR IN CHIEF Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors. Imran Syed is the public editor. He can be reached at publiceditor@michigandaily.com. Vote OurMichigan Mersol-Barg and Navvab stand for social justice nlike previous years, this year's Central Student Government elections are hotly contested with many deserving candidates pushing admirable platforms. There are six pairs of presiden- tial and vice presidential candidates on the ballot this year - each rep- resenting a myriad of political parties, or no party at all. Whether it's engaging students through social media, emphasizing social justice, improving CSG's funding process or focusing on student issues such as medical amnesty and off-campus housing rights, the candidates all have compelling visions and each offer something unique to students. Ultimately, the commitment to social justice of the OurMichigan party stands out the most. Michigan's fight song has a verse that includes the phrase "leaders and the best," and right after we sing it we shout "Go Blue." Everything about the University of Michigan teaches us the importance of leadership and doing our best. We are encouraged to volunteer and give back to our community. That's why I'm running for presi- dent of the Central Student Government as part of the OurMichigan ticket, which envisions CSG as an inclu- sive and active advocate for students. When you see the posters and flyers around campus you may wonder, "does it make a difference who leads student govern- ment?" Yes, there is a difference between the various candidates and parties, and let me voice some of our- Michigan's goals and strategies. Too often people use the word leadership in affilia- tion with ideas of power, dominance, or control. In auni- versity based on a legacy of collective change, activism and innovation, we in OurMichigan strongly believe in encouraging leadership as a form of empowerment and community building. Our platform reflects this commit- ment through its goals of increasing accessibility, sup- porting coalitions and providing sustainable avenues for student engagement. We must address the high cost of being a student in Ann Arbor. The financial challenges facedby current and prospective students threaten our educational opportu- nities and can diminish the diversity of our student body. Lack of money can deny students enrollment or heavily constrain their options for campus activities. How can students volunteer or be active members in the campus community when we struggle to pay for tuition, rent and food with extremely limited funds? Under my adminis- tration, CSG will answer this question in part by setting up a University funded food bank. This will help support students in need. Right now, the University doesn't have a resource that supports its students with basic living needs. OurMichigan believes that CSG can do more to help students with financial hardship. OurMichigan would like to create a strong advo- cacy coalition against tuition hikes and in support of increases in financial aid. We will continue our work for tuition equality while simultaneously creating safe spaces in residence halls and campus gathering locations. This can improve accessibility and security for our diverse community. We believe CSG can help implement policies for the recruitment and retention of all underrepresented communities. With tuition equality, more financial aid and less drastic tuition increases, the University can improve its student body diversity and acceptance rate of lower income students. Members of my party seek to facilitate leadership through the process of building coalitions around vital progressive movements on campus. All student orga- nizations on campus dedicate their work to effecting powerful change. Sometimes the visions they commit resources to overlap with the visions of others. Rather than work against one another or spend time and money redundantly, let's find ways to better work together. OurMichigan understands that CSG can serve as a platform for collaboration in order to encourage and strengthen the passionate endeavors of individual stu- dents or groups. We can create forums for inter-orga- nizational discussions as well as connect students to faculty, administrators and the public through town hall meetings. Collaboration is the most efficacious strategy for students to create change on campus with implications that will echo throughout local, state and national communities. Corresponding to our emphasis on bringingstudents together from all walks of life, OurMichigan hopes to transform CSG into a direct extension of all forms of student voice and interests. Understanding more of the challenges and goals from different campus communi- ties will allow us to use our resources to bridge the gap between them. In general, we want to connect CSG to as many students as possible. Apart from the listening tours, we will also create a simple, web-based application so students can more easily get funding for campus events and projects. Our inclusive approach will be easily accessible and user-friendly. Through this, we will improve communication between campus administrators, CSG and all those whom we represent in order to facilitate a more open and representative University. If you support our vision for leadership, please visit vote.umich.edu to vote for me, vice-presidential candi- date Amy Navvab and representative candidates from OurMichigan. Each vote moves CSG closer to a more inclusive and considerate resource for all student lead- ers to add their voice. Kevin Mersol-Barg is running for Central Student Government president with the OurMichigan party. Unlike previous years, this year's Central Student Government elections are hotly con- tested with many deserving candidates push- ing admirable platforms. There are six pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates on the ballot this year - each representing a myriad of political parties, or no party at all. Whether it's engaging students through social media, emphasizing social justice, improving CSG's funding process or focusing on student issues such as medical amnesty and off-cam- pus housing rights, the candidates all have compelling visions and each offer something unique to students. Ultimately, the OurMichi- gan party commitment to social justice of the OurMichigan stands out the most. The University has largely been defined by the activism of its students in the past. From the initiative to form the Peace Corps to the large number of University students in organizations such as Teach for America, social justice and activism are an integral part ofthe' University's culture and iden- tity. OurMichigan emphasizes social justice, awareness and activism in its platform. It is this commitment to social justice that make Mersol-Barg and Navaab well-suited to be the face of the student body. OurMichigan's platform focuses on reaching out to under- represented student groups to give them a voice in student government. OurMichigan highlights issues such as tuition equality, minority retention and mak- ing college more accessible and affordable to all students. OurMichigan envisions a coali- tion based government, where students at the grassroots level are able to organize and push relevant policies for students. The party pro- poses solid initiatives such as creating a food bank to aid financially strapped college stu- dents and implementing a student leadership trainingtoenhance the University's reputation as the "leaders and the best." Though OurMichigan has a promising vision for social justice, its platform appeals to a con- centrated group. If elected, the party should also work to incorporate other student inter- ests into studentcgovernment. Mersol-Barg and Navvab should draw on the platforms of their counterparts as well - ideas such as making CSG more pertinent to all studentsbyengaging them through social media. OurMichigan will have to work to ensure all students are involved so CSG becomes relevant in routine campus affairs. Each of the other candidates have unique strengths and impressive plans for campus improvement - ideas thatcshouldn't go without mention. MForward presented a comprehen- sive platform focusing on medical amnesty, financial transparency and making students aware of off-campus housing rights. However, the inner-party politicsthat defined the party's nominating process are a cause for hesitation. YouMICH highlighted the importance of making it easier for student groups to get funding and proposed streamlining the finan- cial aid process. CSG presidential candidate Shreya Singh's work with revampingthe fund- ing application is a testament to her ability to make this happen. Overall, YouMICH pres- ents realistic and pragmatic goals, goals that could easily be achieved and are needed for the University. But, the focus of their platform is extremely specific and doesn't include a broad visionto expand CSG's role to anything beyond what it already does. Independent candidates Manish Parikh and Omar Hashwi stressed the need to use social media to reach out to students and make CSG a viable presence in students' lives. Their use of memes to advertise their campaign reinforces their ability to appeal to the student body. They also proposed adding a polling commission to CSG that would collect student opinions on campus affairs. Their focus on representing students along with their creativity, energy and vigor is commendable. However, they lack concrete plans to implement their ideas. The fact that they don't have a focused vision raises concerns about how many of their policies will be achievable in a year. This year's CSG elections present students with a tough decision. There are numerous candidates, all of whom are passionate about the University and bring innovative platforms to the table. What separates OurMichigan's platform from the others is its commitment to make CSG relevant for students that don't cur- rently have a significant voice in student gov- ernment by giving a platform to social justice issues that define the identity ofthis institution. For this year's election, The Michigan Dai- ly's editorial board endorses KEVIN MER- SOL-BARG and AMY NAVVAB for CSG president and vice president. RYAN ROBERTSI W Moving MForward As the president of the University's Engineering Council, I have been able to view the Central Student Government with a unique outside perspective. I have watched as MForward transitioned CSG from an orga- nization that focuses merely on political posturing to one that successfully advocates for students at the Uni- versity, local and state level. In March 2010, MForward formed promising big changes to campus - and back then, as is happening today, naysayers said that student government at the University was powerless. Instead of focusing on bettering this University for decades to come, it should provide "tangible" programs and events for students. Since its formation two years ago, MForward has delivered on its promises. Under former student body President Chris Armstrong, the organization successfully implemented a gender-neutral option in University Housing. Under the direction of Presi- dent DeAndree Watson, state appropriations to the University increased for the first time in more than a decade as a result of extensive lobbying efforts in Lan- sing through the Student Association of Michigan. But MForward hasn't restricted itself to these large issues - small programs and changes have also been part of the MForward platform. For example, forthe first time in years, students can again enjoy a meal in the resi- dence halls on Saturday night. In addition, CSG hosted a tailgate before the Notre Dame night game last fall that attracted more than 8,000 students and greatly reduced the number of hospital visits due to alcohol poisoning as compared to other football Saturdays. I am confident that Aditya Sathi, Louis Mirante and the entire MForward slate will continue to deliver promising changes to students. For example, con- sider Sathi's work on a medical amnesty policy that would eliminate the risk of receiving Minor in Pos- session of Alcohol charges when emergency services are requested for an alcohol-related incident. This program encourages students to contact emergency services when necessary and has been proven to save lives at other universities. Thanks to the hard work of Sathi and others in MForward, a bill implementing this policy has passed in the Michigan House of Represen- tatives and is currently awaiting a vote in the Senate. Members will also work to establish greater student representation on University decision-making com- mittees, including the University's Board of Regents. While opponents of change and greater student repre- sentation say this is impossible and requires an amend- ment to the state constitution, they are wrong. In fact, Wayne State University and Michigan State University both provide student representation on their govern- ing boards and the same constitutional provisions bind them. Gaining greater representation for students is possible, and under MForward it will get done. MForward members believe that student govern- ment must accomplish small goals as well. They will work with other campus organizations to implement a bike share program on campus to provide public- access bikes to students. The CSG website has the ability to bring students and student government closer together by informing students what represen- tatives are working on and by publicizing how CSG funds are utilized. Shreya Singh, current treasurer of CSG and youMICH presidential candidate, did not put CSG financial information online despite multiple requests. Sathi and Mirante will make sure that the campus community can find out what CSG does with student money by making the information available online. Some parties will have you believe that CSG must become smaller and less significant. They say they want student government to be more "pragmatic," but this is only a code word for unimaginative and unin- spired. I am proud to be part of an impressive group of organizations and leaders that oppose this narrow view and endorse MForward and their vision for a stu- dent government that can promote big, lasting change, just as it has already done. MForward has been sup- ported by an incredibly impressive list of leaders including Denard Robinson, Jay Gage and Kevin Tatu- lyan, the president and vice president of the Student Association of Michigan. If you believe that student government shouldn't confine itself to a narrow set of issues, take 60 seconds to log on to vote.umich.edu today or tomorrow and vote for MForward's impres- sive slate of student leaders. Ryan Roberts is the president of the University of Michigan Engineering Council and a junior in the College of Engineering. 0 EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS: Aida Ali, Laura Argintar, Kaan Avdan, Ashley Griesshammer, Nirbhay Jain, Jesse Klein, Patrick Maillet, Erika Mayer, Harsha Nahata, Harsha Panduranga, Timothy Rabb, Adrienne Roberts, Vanessa Rychlinski, Sarah Skaluba, Seth Soderborg, Caroline Syms, Andrew Weiner T SSEND LETTERS TO: TOTHEDAILY@MICHIGANDAILY.COM As University students, we have apowerful voice TO THE DAILY: In the March 18 viewpoint entitled, "Prag- matic Goals for CSG", Michael Budros - vice chair of CSG's Student Organization Funding Commission - made the case for why you- MICH should be elected as the representatives and leaders of our student body while simul- taneously offending an important part of that community. He wrote: "Nor should we expect our student leaders to be able to overturn decades of legal and legislative precedents to offer illegal immigrants in-state tuition." As formerly undocumented immigrants and student activists, we were personally offended by his use of the "I" word, a racially charged slur used to dehumanize an entire population in our country, and by his undermining of the work accomplished bythe Coalition for Tuition Equality. We have both spoken on behalf of the coali- tion, personally addressing the University's Board of Regents at its past two meetings. And the regents were receptive to our message. Regent Julia Darlow (D-Ann Arbor) addition- ally asked Provost Philip Hanlon to provide them with more information regarding our issue. We recognize that as individual students we have a powerful voice and that we can ini- tiate change on this campus. Our university has a long and vibrant legacy of social change and activism, and we seek to continue it. We believe that tuition equality can and will hap- pen at the University, and we know that the support offered by the current CSG adminis- tration has been instrumental to the success of our movement. Conscious of his agency as a CSG representative, the coalition's founder and OurMichigan presidential candidate, Kevin Mersol-Barg strategically utilized the resources available to him through such posi- tion in order to bring this issue to the eyes of administration. It is obvious to us and students on this cam- pus that this is the kind of change we need in Central Student Government. As candidates with OurMichigan, if elected, we pledge to con- tinue advocating for meaningful change. LuzMeza is anLSA junior and DanielMorales is an LSA freshman. Both are running for CSG representative with the OurMichigan party. IT W E ET IT OR IA L EDITORIALS IN 140 CHARACTERS OR CESS .#CSGelections #studentgoverment -@michdailyoped 0 FOLLOW DAILY OPINION ON TWITTER Keep up with columnists, read Daily editorials, view cartoons and join in the debate. Check out @michdailyoped to get updates on Daily opinion content throughout the day.