Today, members of the Undergraduate Assembly will gather to elect the chairman for the next academic year. While the entire student body does not get to vote in this particular election, the chairman, more so than any other undergraduate leader on campus, speaks for the entire student body.
This year, the UA is lucky to have two well-qualified and intelligent candidates, either of whom could lead the body successfully. College sophomore Alec Webley, a one-term UA member, offers an ambitious platform to expand the UA's outreach and accessibility to the student body. He has solid ideas to improve many facets of the UA, from offering more services to students to decreasing the lengthy UA meetings, but we have concerns about the likelihood that most of these plans will reach fruition. We believe Webley's passion and attention to detail is better utilized at a more hands-on level.
We think, then, that Zac Byer is better suited for the role of chairman. As a two-year member and current Executive Board member, he has the experience and skills the UA chairman needs. Byer understands the role of the UA chairman, who primarily serves as a facilitator and moderator for external relationships and internal debates. As this year's UA vice chairman for external relations, Byer has guided and guarded relationships with key student groups. He knows how to move the UA along and plans on addressing many student concerns as well, from the price of textbooks to study abroad in Israel. Byer's leadership abilities have been proven, both on the UA and in other groups as well, and we're confident he can ably lead the UA through the 2009-2010 school year.
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