Tuesday's ASG presidential election will feature five candidates in the largest field since 2005. It also stands out in another way: The candidates in the race have the least collective ASG experience in at least the last nine years.
Mark Crain and Neal Sales-Griffin each spent a year or less in ASG positions, and Luke Adams, Scott Burton and Blake Yocom have no formal ASG experience.
Current ASG President Jonathan Webber, on the other hand, spent three years in the Student Senate before his election last April.
It's unusual for no candidate to have spent significant time in a prominent role in the organization, said ASG Senator Ravi Umarji, a Sales-Griffin supporter.
"None of the ASG candidates can claim significant ASG experience," the McCormick sophomore said. "Mark Crain was on the Student Activities Finance Board for a year and Neal Sales-Griffin was a senator for six months, and those are the most entrenched ASG personnel running."
Umarji speculated last year's close race between Weinberg seniors Webber and Julian Hill, who had served as coordinator of For Members Only, led students without extensive ASG experience to run this year.
But Hill disputed Umarji's explanation in an interview. A more likely interpretation of this year's field, Hill said, was the absence of a genuine ASG insider, leaving an opening for less-experienced candidates.
"Maybe the fact that no insider is running opened it up a little more," Hill said. "There's an opportunity for people to come in and not be ostracized for not being very knowledgeable."
Webber endorsed Burton, a Mock Trial team captain and former U.S. Marine, in a letter published in Friday's Daily.
"Scott doesn't have any experience in ASG, but for him, I think that is an asset, and in him I believe NU has a great opportunity," the Weinberg senior wrote. "Scott's life experience will lead him to be an effective liaison between students and NU administrators, and to focus on the student body instead of the student government."
2008 Woodie Awards
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idiot
posted 4/14/08 @ 3:25 PM CST
"It's a little naive to think that you could suddenly come here without knowing how the system works and expect to effect change," the Weinberg sophomore said. (Continued…)
Rick
posted 4/15/08 @ 12:05 PM CST
Haha...Its funny to see how some people think so highly of ASG. I think a well trained chimpanzee could do a better job than some of our past presidents. (Continued…)
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