The facts: As of midnight Tuesday evening, and officially from 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, Andy Walsh will be the student body president for the 2012-2013 school year.
Our opinion: In the year to come, Walsh should take his new position very seriously and use his power to best represent the students.
After two weeks of campaigning, the results are in. While many are excited about Andy Walsh’s reign, some are a bit concerned. Walsh’s platform was built on student input gathered throughout the 2011-2012 year, information available to all candidates, but only utilized by one. While we know his platform and future actions as student body president will be student-oriented with the incorporation of social interactions, let’s not lose sight of the greater responsibilities Walsh will be held accountable for. Student body presidents must shoulder their biggest responsibility, which is the role the office plays in the University. Not only are they the face for the student body, they act as a voting member of the Board of Trustees. Whenever there is an issue discussed at the Board meetings, the student body president is expected to not only be there, but also voice the concerns of the students. Walsh has already demonstrated this type of representation in November, when he chose not to support the bill condemning Amendment One to state legislatures. Walsh explained he
was against the bill in the Diversity Debate due to it being blindly written and not aligning with the views of the entire University student body. However, we can only hope he maintains this attitude while representing students in a more powerful venue. Although Walsh does promise a lot more social activities for students to participate in, he also promised to miantain transparency of the tuition and fee process. Unfortunately, this is also the most difficult promise to keep. Since the University will likely never tell us where all our money is going, it is up to Walsh to stay informed and act as the voice of the students when the topic of tuition and fees is brought up in board meetings. Relaying information such as this back to students is vital in a successful presidency. Walsh would do well to take a hint from Thompson’s success at increasing communication with the HOWL email updates. This could help Walsh with his platform point of transparency. With such a potential to make a difference, we can only hope he takes his new position seriously, as he will be held accountable for the successes and failures of the upcoming year.
