It’s that time of year again, folks — the flowers are in bloom, short sleeves are acceptable outside clothing, and the 5% of students who pay attention to this stuff choose who ascends to the hallowed halls of the Associated Students of Michigan State University, our student government. Those committed 5% (which hopefully includes you, reader) vote for their college’s representative in the ASMSU General Assembly from today, March 30, to April 5.
Last year, our publication was most concerned with the antics of Agriculture and Natural Resources representative Sergei Kelley, editor-in-chief of The Morning Watch, and the General Assembly’s attempt to boot him from the body. After Kelley’s defeat at the hands of his fellow students last spring, we turn our attention to the body as a whole.
The coronavirus has shaken up this year’s elections, as a recent State News article pointed out. Campaigns have moved online, using social media and Zoom meetings to promote themselves. However, many campaigns seem to be taking the apathetic route of most students in their online classes. Neither ASMSU nor The State News published campaign Q&As this year, so campaign platforms are nowhere to be found. When The Evening Look reached out to try and gain more information, we received no responses from candidates.
As such, we will offer one direct endorsement, to the only candidate who reached out to us proactively: Matt Apostle (Arts and Letters). Apostle has spent two years working in policy and advisory roles at ASMSU. His policy platforms include exploring ways to provide students with more affordable textbooks, investigating ways for James Madison and Arts and Letters students to enroll in Social Science minors, and continuing to advance ASMSU’s diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.
Once again, there is a conservative slate running for General Assembly seats. We will thus anti-endorse Gavyn Webb (James Madison), Jack Harrison (Communication Arts and Sciences), and of course, Sergei Kelley (Agriculture and Natural Resources). We recommend voting for alternative candidates. In the case of Harrison, running unopposed, we recommend any CAS students reading this to write in the name of your best CAS buddy.
Also, vote yes on the taxes! You get all sorts of amenities. Like those free blue books at Student Services? Legal help? Safe Ride? The State News? It’s all thanks to the miniscule taxes you pay each semester.
Now that you’re a tremendously informed student, get out there and vote!
-The Evening Look Staff
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The lack of responses by the candidates is disheartening, but it makes me feel better that I didn’t waste time developing a questionnaire like the one I did last year.
The Matt Apostle endorsement makes sense, as he’s smart, thoughtful, and generally great.
I’m not as sure about the anti-endorsements though. There have been many very good conservative ASMSU Reps (the current session’s Adam Green [JMC], for one). On the other hand, there’s a more pernicious brand of conservatism (The Morning Watch/Sergei Kelly types) that deserves to be anti-endorsed. I don’t know either, so I’m curious whether Webb and Harrison are of the latter ilk. If so, the anti-endorsement is well-earned.
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