Favorite Plank: "We would like to explore the creation of the Freshman Forum. The purpose of this forum would be to allow freshman with leadership potential to gain experience working with other members of student government, as well as voice their opinions on how to improve the first-year experience at UNI."
Least Favorite Plank: "Following the discussions with public safety, communication was made with the city of Cedar Falls about the safety concerns [of 23rd Street]. The city is open to additional signage (i.e. another stop sign, pedestrian lights, etc.) but funding for the signage is not expected to be placed in the budget for another few years."
Unique Plank: "Given the unlikelihood of significantly increased hours in the Union and Library due to the extra funds required for building operation and staff, we would like to increase awareness of the Towers Center as an after hours study area."
Platform Theme: Continuity. Most of the planks are focused on continuing conversations and initiatives that have already been started by KaLeigh and current student body president Jordan Bancroft-Smithe.
Executive Branch and Senate Transparency
Opening up the lines of communication between NISG and the rest of the student body seems to be a hot topic for the candidates of this election, and I think KaLeigh and Alicia set some realistic goals here. The fact is, you can only inform those who want to be informed, and I think this ticket has a firm grasp of that concept.
Better Organization and Finance Committee Communication
This one is a no-brainer. Postponing meetings rather than cancelling them altogether will help ease the stress for student organizations requesting funding.
Suggestion Box Promotion
I must admit, I'm not a fan of this one. If someone has a suggestion, why couldn't they just email or speak directly with one of the directors in the office? A suggestion box is a nice idea, in theory, but is anyone really going to use it?
President's Column in the Northern Iowan
I love the columns, but they do seem kind of tedious and repetitive after a while.
Improvement of the NISG Website
This is a must. That website is a mess. There is far too much information that is outdated and some pages have even been left blank. I do the like the idea of video tutorials for student organizations on how to request funding.
Building a Relationship With the New President
Again, this one is a no-brainer. But all of the candidates are on an even keel with this one since William Ruud won't take office for another few months.
Freshman Involvement
This is my favorite plank, as I mentioned above. If you're going to change student mentality about student government, you have to start with the freshmen. I love the idea of a Freshman Forum, because it allows them to interact early on with the members of NISG and also voice their opinions.
The NISG Strategic Plan
Improving the transition between administrations is great, but this is an internal matter and I don't see your casual voter caring about the transitioning process. I'm not trying to undermine what they're doing, but this feels like the candidates padding their resume.
Large Calendar of Events in Union
I love the idea. But will it ever be happen? And where would you put it?
Cheaper and Healthier Meal Options in the Union
Another example of KaLeigh and Alicia continuing a conversation started by Jordan and KaLeigh and taking advantage of an already established relationship. Kudos to them.
23rd Street Safety
Anywhere on campus where there are students walking and people driving is going to be dangerous. More signage isn't going to change that, especially if funding is years away.
Extended Commuter Parking
This is another continued conversation and another simple, realistic goal. Rather than aiming high, KaLeigh and Alicia are shooting low and going for the sure bets. Not a bad route to go, but you also run the risk of putting your voters to sleep.
Panther Shuttle Expansion
I like this idea. Students still attend classes after 5 p.m., so why shouldn't the Panther Shuttle still be running? But funding will be the issue here.
Incentive to Purchase Dining Dollars
I don't see this as being important to students. To me, this seems more like something that will benefit the Department of Residence more than anyone else.
Service Organizations
KaLeigh serves as a committee chair with the Service and Leadership Programs in the Student Involvement Center. This is an excellent example of using your connections to your advantage. A partnership between these two entities would be mutually beneficial.
Fraternity & Sorority Life
Most of the issues that KaLeigh and Alicia raise in terms of Fraternity & Sorority Life seem to be internal problems within Greek Life, which makes me wonder how much of a difference NISG can really make. I'd feel better about this plank if they had endorsements from leaders within Greek Life, because their cooperation is going to be essential.
Diversity
Diversity is another huge talking point in this election and, with Alicia currently serving as Director of Diversity and Student Life, this ticket is well-versed on this issue, and it shows in their platform. But some of these are no-brainers. Increased accommodations for students with disabilities, a permanent help center for veterans and a center for the LGBT community are almost requirements for a serious election platform. But their strength lies in multicultural awareness, where I'm intrigued by the idea of resurrecting the Multicultural Student Advisory Board. Diversity covers almost two pages of their platform and it is clear that they've placed an emphasis on this area of their platform.
Academics
KaLeigh's experience with the faculty senate is a sticking point, because that relationship could be an important one going forward, especially with the tension between the faculty and administration. I also appreciate the mention of advertising the Towers Center for after hours studying. It might seem like a small issue, but I look at it as a nice touch.
Green Initiatives
This is another big topic among the candidates. What sets this plank apart from the others is RecycleMania, a program being instituted by Jordan and KaLeigh's Director of Environmental Affairs. All of the candidates can talk about increasing the use of recycling and composting, but KaLeigh has something to show for it.
Final Thoughts: KaLeigh and Alicia have set reasonable goals for themselves and placed an emphasis on continuing the ideas and initiatives begun by Jordan and KaLeigh. Their selling point is that their current positions in NISG would provide a smooth transition next year and allow them to finish what they started, rather than a new administration starting over with their own ideas. What I like about this platform is that KaLeigh and Alicia are realistic about what they want to accomplish and, rather than attempting to blow you away with big ideas, they're choosing quality over quantity. But with that said, I do have to criticize them for playing it safe. KaLeigh is the incumbent, so to speak, so it makes sense for them to not preach too much change, but there isn't anything on their platform that knocks my socks off, which is a little disappointing. They've got experience and a realistic approach, but will a humdrum platform win over voters? We'll have to wait and see.
What do you think?
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