President and vice president:
We're moving forward with Ciggia and Andzel.
The Forward Party ticket of presidential candidate Carson Ciggia and vice presidential candidate Christian Andzel is the perfect combination of experience, leadership and drive. Ciggia, a School of Management student and the founder of the Undergraduate Business Association, and Andzel, one of UB's most prominent student leaders, are exactly what we see as the best match for student body leaders and with them in charge, we expect to see great changes in the transparency, accountability and professionalism of SA.
We appreciate and respect the Spirit ticket of Nick Johns and Lyle Selsky, especially their mentality of giving a voice to the students and not telling them what they need. Johns played up the image by coming into The Spectrum office still dressed in what he wore to his pledge football game, meaning to show he is one of the common people (Selsky was away at a Mock Trial competition and Skyped in for his speech). Each talked about expanding student involvement, building on their website and creating more opportunities for clubs to market.
But at the same time, we felt their idea to have a database to track University Heights landlords shows a misunderstanding of the problems in the neighborhood and that the young ticket doesn't quite have a grasp on how they are going to do what they need to do.
While our vote for the Forward party was, in the end, unanimous, the decision required much discussion. Did we want a party of experience that came off as too extreme or a party of ambition that, overall, came off too reserved?
Each party had its faults. Forward's Ciggia and Andzel came off cocky and less relatable to the student body. We felt like they were a business trying to sell us something we didn't really want. Spirit's Johns and Selsky, on the other hand, have the problem of inexperience. Johns is currently a sophomore and Selsky is a senior with junior standing. Overall, their platform reads like there's a lot more work cut out for them than they seem to think, and the impression we got from them is that they are going to just try and feel it out and hope for the best. Not exactly reassuring.
The professionalism and confidence of the Forward Party are not bad qualities. The passion the Spirit Party seems to have for UB's students is an even better quality. Ideally, you should want somebody in office that you feel comfortable talking with on a one-on-one basis. But we don't want that passion to be without a plan, and unfortunately, that is what we feel we're getting from Spirit.
We have the advantage of knowing what the candidates are like outside of their speeches, however, and in their actual work. From what we've seen in Senate meetings, Johns is in the background, quiet and shy. Ciggia, on the other hand, is center stage, asking the big questions, speaking up and taking an active role. He is playing the part of a president, and he is exactly the kind of person to be leading SA.
In our own self-interest, we've wondered what exactly we at The Spectrum would get with either ticket in charge. Throughout the course of the last few days, we've noticed how clear it is that Forward is much more in favor of us than Spirit is and will ever be. Johns and other Spirit members showed how uneducated they are regarding SA's relationship with the paper, and that puts us in a bad spot. If you're not prepared to talk with us, we feel the same could hold true when you talk to a club or company.
We, along with a good portion of the student body, also have a vested interest in student safety and the conditions of the Heights. While the constant name-dropping of safety officials and Buffalo politicians by the Forward Party was off-putting, safety in the Heights is part of the party's platform, and both Ciggia and Andzel have shown interest in it, working with the community to get things done. While the delegates of the Spirit Party mentioned it as part of their goals, it felt like a last-minute effort, especially because the issue is ignored completely in the party platform.
It's important for the SA president and vice president to continue a policy of absolute visibility. UB would get that with the Forward Party. Andzel is a frequent contributor to The Spectrum with his letters to the editor; he wants the student body to hear his voice. He's willing to put his thoughts and opinions out there now, and there's almost a guarantee that he will continue that in office.
Additionally, Andzel has also proven he's passionate about clubs - both those that he is a part of and others around campus. The VP candidate is an active member of UB Students for Life and the founder of UB Conservatives, as well as a member of several other organizations. After a series of passive vice presidents, there is nothing wrong with a dominant VP; in fact, it's something that should be acknowledged and appreciated.
Our only concern with Andzel is his reputation around campus, which many would describe as closed-minded. Based on presentation, though, we ideally would switch the Forward ticket to have Andzel running for president and Ciggia running for vice president. However, Ciggia's own ambition and preparation for this puts him in a good spot with us. While Johns tried too hard to be relatable, it was evident how long Ciggia has been waiting for this opportunity and how hard he has worked to get this far.
Forward's next move is, in fact, forward, and the Ciggia/Andzel ticket should go all the way.
Treasurer:
Sometimes the best choice is the safe choice. And that choice is Forward Party Treasurer Joshua Fromm.
Fromm is admittedly a placeholder, in our opinion, but he's not a throwaway. He has a background in finance, currently serves as a bookkeeper in SA's finance department and has become familiar with Sub-Board, Inc., and club executive boards.
Spirit Party Treasurer candidate Siddhant Chhabria, on the other hand, was - without question - the better speaker of the two candidates. While Fromm put on the political voice and delivered a short, anxious speech, Chhabria was calm and confident.
Too confident. While he can deliver a speech, his arrogance and his qualms communicating in the workplace throw up a red flag. Chhabria was fired twice from his position as a bookkeeper in SA, according to Fromm. However, Chhabria tells a different story, saying he resigned the first time due to unprofessionalism in the workplace and, the second time, was laid off without any proper documentation of the reasons. We still have no exact story on what happened, so with that, we hold great reserves.
Chhabria currently has a much higher ceiling from what we've seen and much more ambitious ideas, but that can be dangerous and that's worrisome. If the choice is between the guy who's departed his SA job twice and the guy who is less politically savvy to take over the treasurer position, the choice is clear.
We're not looking for someone who can woo us with rhetoric; we're looking for someone who is going to watch out for us and our money. While Chhabria has an impressive r?(c)sum?(c) and the capability to manage SA's checkbook, we're more confident with it in Fromm's pocket. Both candidates were asked at the debate what the largest amount of money is they've ever had to manage. Chhabria (who refused to share private sector figures) answered $4,000 and Fromm answered $32,000.
Most importantly, Chhabria's main goal for his tenure as treasurer is a waste of money. The Spirit Party candidate wants to implement an emergency line that clubs can borrow from while waiting for existing revenue to be added into their accounts. The line would run $25,000.
A treasurer has to not only be somebody the student body can trust, but he or she also has to be levelheaded. We agree with Fromm when he says 90 percent of the goals of the Spirit Party are already taken care of while the remaining 10 percent are infeasible. The emergency line falls into that 10 percent, with the additional problem of just being silly.
If you are going to make a campaign promise, it has to be something you can influence throughout your tenure. If put into place, the fund wouldn't even go into effect for another year. Either way, Fromm said he can't think of a situation where a club ever got denied its event because it didn't have its money at the time. And neither have we.
Fromm is also by no means passive. While Chhabria talked during the debate, Fromm didn't just stand there quietly; he fired back, making jabs at Chhabria's employment woes and defending his own record. He is a safe choice, but he is a choice we are willing to stand behind confidently.
Delegates:
Aminat Seriki - Spirit Party:
SUNY Delegates are in the unique position where they work directly with both the students and officials in Albany to find and meet the needs of the people. This is a role for which we feel Seriki will be perfect. Between her involvement with the African Student Association - in which she was awarded Member of the Year - and an active presence around campus, Seriki's experience will pave the way for her to market to and for the international community at UB - and UB as a whole.
Mohammad Alwahaidy - Spirit Party:
If you recognize Alwahaidy's name or picture, don't be surprised. The delegate candidate is an incredibly active member of the UB community, most recently emceeing this year's International Fiesta and participating in multiple clubs, such as Pakistani SA, Indian SA, Black Student Union and Muslim SA. We want someone who is a key part of the community, and Alwahaidy's involvement both on and off campus and his not overly ambitious goals, such as easily accessible library outlets,cement our confidence in him to serve UB well.
James Lopez - Forward Party:
Calm, cool and collected, Lopez stayed impressive by saying less and was our standout choice among the delegates of both parties. Lopez was voted vice president of PODER Latinos Unidos, but perhaps the most impressive accomplishment during his three years at UB is becoming the chapter founder and president of Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, the largest national Latin fraternity. Lopez will be a great representative of UB, working inside and outside the campus, building up community relationships and making SA known and active among students.
Alexandra Schwartz - Forward Party:
Schwartz is our fourth choice for SUNY delegate, but we choose her with great hesitation. She failed to deliver any tangible ideas because she doesn't know yet what the students want or need. But, at the same time, that could be a positive. Instead of offering frivolous or intangible plans like a couple of the other delegates, she is waiting for input before aggressively diving into anything. Because of this mentality, we feel Schwartz has the ability to bridge the gap between professionalism and approachability.
Email: editorial@ubspectrum.com
