Since the student body president runoff is today, I thought I would write and give my two cents about the candidates that were running. Firstly, I would like to make it clear that I respect both Jen Daum and Will McKinney for running in this race and spending a lot of hours to get where they are. However, I think that the student body should be aware of serious issues with voting for Jen Daum.
In my opinion, her platform consists of nothing other than blatant gender-pandering and sexist propaganda. I have got two e-mails from her recently, and both of them have had the line "In 209 years, two women have been elected student body president. ... It's time for a change." Her reasoning behind her being elected is that since she is female, she is in a better position to endorse women's issues than her opponent. This remains to be seen, especially as her platform was revealed yesterday in The Daily Tar Heel as being nothing but a bunch of promises that are either already accomplished (as is the case with extra rounds to sorority houses and apartments) or things that will already happen without the input of any student body president (as is the case with drop-off care facilities in the new Student Services building). Obviously, Jen is hoping for the fact that since the campus is 60/40 female to male that will be enough to get her elected into office. While this may be, sometimes, an effective strategy, it is not a respectable one.
On the contrary, Will McKinney's platform is well thought out and does not rely on immature appeals based on gender. I hope that everyone will join me today in voting for Will McKinney.
Jesse Hastings
Junior
International Studies
