Each year, the Vanderbilt Student Government presidential election defies the limits of most physical and Biblical laws by becoming more inane. Actually, forget “inane” — stupid. It gets stupider. All the time. In ways that make you feel stupider for knowing about them.
Anyway, the Hustler editorial board (which I’m not on, because I only handle online material) endorsed Lori Murphy and Lee Pedinoff today:
Murphy and Pedinoff are the better representatives of the student community and therefore are the most qualified to advocate on its behalf. Many of Murphy and Pedinoff’s goals are oriented around improving on-campus involvement and overall cohesion.
Someone has already sent in a letter to the editor — who knows if it gets published, so SPOILER ALERT GUYS — deriding the editorial board because it “was tasteless the way The Hustler uses the student newspaper as a public medium for one particular ticket. This is not fair…I speak aggressively when I say that both sides should be fairly supported since this is an election.”
I think someone’s unfamiliar with the concept of an endorsement. I speak aggressively when I say that. Suffice to say, this all obscures the larger point so close at hand that you can ride it around like a show pony: We’re not electing the Pope.
This is literally about someone to occasionally stand next to Martha Ingram and get Chipotle on the Commodore Card. VSG has a important role on campus, particularly as a lobbying organization. They manage a lot of money and organizations, and work all the time — it’s rough. I agree with Mike Warren they should elect from within, but they don’t, and so we all must endure this. In fact, instead, let’s defer to a real expert on student government:
Shut it down, y’all.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
You may be on to something with that bit about the Pope… perhaps VSG should hold a conclave to decide who the next President will be. If someone disagrees with the decision and messes up the vote, we can burn him/her alive to send up black smoke. This could be listed on all of the candidates’ platforms as a ‘green’ initiative since we wouldn’t be burning paper, just people, and we can regard the increased carbon footprint as negligible since most current and future VSG candidates are composed of hot air, water, and tortellini.
In all seriousness, thank you for finally stating the obvious: the VSG elections are ridiculous and everyone needs to take a chill pill. Preferably before I waste any more of my neurons hearing about this crap. You certainly would have my endorsement.
This comment wins. For ever. Absolutely the finest work in the comments on this blog. We salute Alex.