Observer endorses Bishop/Foley
Observer Editorial
Libby Bishop and Trip Foley understand what students want.
They aren't promising more festival-like events that will only waste money and not generate much student interest. They aren't promising unfeasible ideas like air conditioning for dorms that are more than 80 years old.
What they are promising is a practical platform dedicated to cutting down program overlap and helping students understand what resources are already available. They are the ticket that best balances ambition with experience and are the best choice for student body president and vice president in 2002-03.
For two years, student government has set about producing new activities and creating new resources. Often these programs overlapped and sometimes even competed with other University departments and branches of student government. Bishop/Foley wants to end that overlap.
Rather than creating more multicultural activities through the office of the president, Bishop/Foley plan to make students aware of programs that already exist through groups like Multicultural Student Programs and Services. Instead of creating more gender relations studies or programs, Bishop/Foley will more effectively promote and use dorm-sponsored activities.
But that doesn't mean that the Bishop/Foley ticket lacks initiative and new ideas. Most of their ideas, however, are not grandiose plans to change student government but instead simple plans to improve student life. Bishop and Foley's print sharing system will be a simple way for Notre Dame students who don't use the computer labs to share their allotment of pages with those who do. This is a simple way to improve student life without inconveniencing anyone.
Bishop and Foley will go beyond just the simple ways of improving student life as well. Rather than caving to administration pressure to end tailgating, they want to work to clarify the tailgating policies so that students know exactly what they can and cannot do. They also plan to take a tough stance against unreasonable demands from the administration like banning 21-year-old students from drinking when non-Notre Dame students may drink freely. Administrators want to eliminate unsafe drinking and obnoxious behavior; students want to preserve their fun; Bishop/Foley recognizes the importance of both parties' concerns and will create an effective compromise.
By clarifying the rules of tailgating for students to stop destructive behavior and taking a strong stance against administrators who confuse destructive drinking with social drinking, Bishop and Foley might be the only ticket who can preserve the Notre Dame student tailgate tradition.
Bishop/Foley's platform has far from a monopoly on good ideas, however. If they are elected they should take a good look at other platforms and adopt the other candidates best ideas into their own administration. Scott Palko and P.J. Mercanti's plan to combine lottery number distribution with football ticket application distribution is the perfect solution to football ticket distribution problems of the past. A graduation requirement checklist on IrishLink, as proposed by the Moscona/Oxley ticket, is an easy way to keep students organized academically.
Most importantly, however, Bishop/Foley needs to stay connected to the students. Its platform is built on the ideas and desires of everyday students. Once Bishop and Foley take office, however, they can't squirrel themselves away on the second floor of LaFortune. They must remain responsive to student needs. The Observer believes this ticket has the best chance to remain connected to the student body and encourages you to vote for Libby Bishop and Trip Foley on Monday.
All Viewpoint Stories for Thursday, February 7, 2002
