Last year, the Student Government (SG) Executive Slate appointed a cabinet in order to allow SG to do its job better. These individuals were chosen after a fair and open application process, and they were subsequently approved by both the College and Graduate Councils. In the past year (2014–15), cabinet members have enabled us to fund RSOs more efficiently, to start a newsletter, and to maintain services like Marketplace. They have never received any payment or stipend for their work.

This year, on the other hand, at least one slate has offered individuals these roles before the election has even occurred. This runs counter to the spirit of an open and accessible Student Government, and instead potentially reinforcing student fears that Student Government is a place for nepotism and resume-padding. We believe these important roles should instead be filled after the election through an application process open to every UChicago student, as is the case with other governments, student or otherwise.

As such, we, the undersigned College Council candidates, will only vote to confirm individuals to cabinet positions if they are selected through a fair and open application process after the election. All students should be able to get involved in the work done by Student Government, and we hope you’ll join us in ensuring that cabinet positions are held to that standard.

—Ted Barrett ‘16, Clark Halpern ‘16, Mark Sands ‘16, Mike Viola ‘16; Blaine Crawford ‘17, Saachi Gupta ‘17, Leeho Lim ‘17, Louisa Richardson-Deppe ‘17, Katherine Shen ‘17, Ala Tineh ‘17, Peggy Xu ‘17; Cosmo Albrecht ‘18, Calvin Cottrell ‘18, Eric Holmberg, ’18