This year’s communication failure between students and the administration illustrated the need of Student Government (SG) to perform its proper function: to represent the views of the students. SG has better access to administrators on campus than most students. But while the top administrators are eager to lend their ears, SG has not yet formed a cohesive voice. This year, the Most Known Unknowns and Your-SG are the two slates for the SG Executive Committee vying to fill that void. Delta Upsilon’s spoof slate, the Moose Party, has also thrown its hat into the ring in its annual protest against SG.

While the Maroon is tempted by the Most Known Unknowns’ promise to bring a fresh voice to SG, the slate suffers from inexperience and presents few original ideas or concrete plans. The centerpiece of the Most Known Unknowns’ platform is a big speaker fund, but when pressed on how they will find the five- or six-figure sums required to bring such speakers to campus, the candidates naïvely insisted that “there’s always money somewhere.” This unfamiliarity with the intricacies of SG finances highlights the slate’s lack of experience; only one of its three candidates has previously served on SG.

The Maroon was pleased to hear Your-SG’s goal to make SG a credible intermediary between the administration and students. Your-SG plans to increase accountability by hiring an independent secretary for all College Council meetings. The slate also proposes creating an SG Executive Committee blog to encourage communication between the student body and SG. Its proposal for an RSO Wiki would enable each student group to present its own face and contact information to students without unnecessary red tape.

Your-SG has reasonable plans to tackle student life concerns. From bringing back a popular location for the all-night study space to adding more blue security lights off campus, Your-SG has a well thought-out platform. The slate has expressed a desire to work with and bring ideas to the Transportation and Parking Office to make both the CTA and late-night bus service more convenient for the University community. The candidates also maintain a sensible stance on the U-Pass—they support giving students a choice via a referendum while maintaining that the costs are prohibitive.

Your-SG offers the right mix of experience, new ideas, and leadership that the student body needs. The slate presented its ideas with research details to show that the candidates had done their homework. With hope for a better year for SG, the Maroon endorses Your-SG.

U-Pass shouldn’t pass this week

Also on the ballot is a referendum on the U-Pass. While the Maroon is glad to see the issue finally put to a vote, the U-Pass is not financially sound for most students on campus given the average student’s travel habits. The Maroon votes no on the U-Pass and encourages level-headed students to do the same.