I spoke with the candidates for Student Association president, Matt Correia and Ryan Kelly, this week, and I learned a lot.

First of all, no matter how much The Daily Orange or I may rag on it, SA has progressed nicely during this session.

Second of all, the university, with SA’s help, will be undergoing some major changes soon.

And third of all, for the first time in recent memory, there are two qualified, experienced candidates for the SA presidency.

Both candidates have plenty of experience with SA to do the job. Correia is serving his second semester as a member of the finance board, while Kelly is beginning his second year as member of the assembly. They have both seen progress from current president Wayne Horton, and know how to continue that legacy. Kelly may argue that his additional year on the assembly makes him the better candidate, but the bigger issue at hand is who has the best ideas and can implement them, not who has the most experience with SA.

The theme for Correia’s campaign seems to be ‘collaboration.’ He said he wants student groups to have more interaction with SA acting as a facilitator. On paper, it’s a great idea. But then again, so is communism. It’s no mystery that several student groups are at odds with each other, and getting them in the same room to talk about their differences would be like getting John Kerry and George W. Bush to kiss and make up after trading blows this week. It’s going to be a challenge no matter who the next SA president is.

Kelly is also taking student groups into consideration, but he seems to have a broader focus on the campus as a whole. Kelly said he has already taken the initiative to speak with SU’s Recreational Services about updating the Schine Student Center, a continuation of the work Horton began this session. The problem with that, of course, is money. There’s no guarantee there is enough money to improve the student center, especially with all the other revitalization projects going on around campus. It’s one of those things that will take time, and it would be hard for anyone to improve in just two semesters.

It comes down to the issues. Each candidate has a lengthy platform full of ideas, and it’s up to the voters to decide which one they align with while still holding a bit of skepticism at what could turn out to be an unfulfilled campaign promise.

I am not going to tell you who I think should be the next SA president. I am going to tell you to keep track of what both candidates say during the coming weeks. See where they stand on issues such as safety and campus revitalization. Go to the debates, or at least read the articles about them in The D.O. And if you’re still confused, call or e-mail the candidates. One of these two candidates will be in charge of the $1.7 million of student activity fee, and it’s the students’ responsibility to make sure the best candidate gets the job.

Steven Kovach is a featured columnist whose columns appear Fridays in The Daily Orange. E-mail him at sjkovach@gmail.com.

Published on November 2, 2006 at 12:00 pm