‘One Team, One U’ promises effective solutions, increased voter participation

Come Monday, polls will open for next year’s Student Government (SG) officers. This year, well-qualified candidates from three strong tickets are competing for the highest executive positions of president, vice president and treasurer.

Out of these impressive platforms, The Miami Hurricane endorses the “One Team, One U” ticket as the middle ground between the passion and the practicality of the other two tickets.

“One Team, One U” includes candidates with leadership experience in many campus organizations, including SG and Greek life. However, Jason Goldenberg, the presidential candidate, has never been involved with SG, and this “outsider” status can provide a refreshing perspective.

The ticket heavily prioritizes SG outreach, engagement and voter participation with disaffected students. The ticket’s hallmark initiative is bringing back a student town hall on the Rock, where SG will receive input from all members of the community. The candidates express concerns that administration is not receiving enough student input, and they have a serious intention of listening to more voices and implementing necessary changes.

As for their competitors, “Empower U” has by far the most impactful goals; their platform touches on important issues skirted by the other tickets, such as mental health and climate change. While their ideas enrich this year’s race, many of their initiatives cannot be practically implemented with the limited time and manpower of a single SG term, and future continuity is hard to guarantee. Both candidates can still make an impact by using their thorough expertise of social justice and mental health issues in focused leadership positions rather than general executive positions.

It is clear that “True to You” has the most experienced team and the most polished campaign. All three candidates have been leaders in SG, Greek life and other large student organizations. However, their initiatives fall short of their qualifications. Aside from flood control and lighting, their proposals are significantly less substantial than those of the other tickets. For candidates so involved on campus, their platform seems to be out of touch with student needs.

“One Team, One U” may not have the most revolutionary platform or the most well-known faces, but it seeks to represent the everyman. Under their passionate and thoughtful leadership, these candidates may be able to incorporate the best elements of each ticket this year: a hope for both big-picture and day-to-day improvements in student life at the U.

Editorials represent the majority view of The Miami Hurricane editorial board.