What makes an ideal student body president?

Professionalism

The majority of the student body president’s power comes from the ability to influence those in power. He or she must be able to connect with all sorts of people — not just students — and serve as an effective and respectable representative of student interests to administrators and officials statewide. A close professional relationship can often get a lot more done than a petition with thousands of signatures.

Issues

A good platform is comprehensive, realistic and specific in its plan for implementation. The SBP represents all of campus, and his or her platform needs to reflect that. Candidates have to research the issues they’re purporting to have solutions for and must present a timeline to put them into place. The best ideas are worthless if the candidate can’t get them done. Platform feasibility is key.

Institutional knowledge

Institutional knowledge often receives far too much weight in determining a candidate’s merit. Management ability and intellectual capacity matter much more. That being said, it doesn’t hurt to know your way around the system. Familiarity with student government and administrative structures will grease the wheels of governance. But the ability to learn quickly can compensate for a lack of experience.

Community relations

The student body president is the face of students to those outside of the University’s immediate community. His or her responsibility doesn’t stop at Franklin Street. Prior engagement with — and knowledge of — town issues will make the SBP’s advocacy more effective. The future of both the town and the University are inextricably linked because if one succeeds, so does the other.

Quality of team

A student body president is only one person — and one person can’t make the platform a reality and advocate for students alone. The ultimate success of a student government administration depends on the quality of the team he or she is able to recruit and then imbue with a shared vision. Since much of the administration’s day-to-day work is delegated, a higher caliber team will get better results.

Campus involvement

Any serious candidate will have long ago gotten involved in a number of campus organizations. But it’s not the amount or diversity of involvement that matters. Rather, it’s a proven record in those organizations of advocacy, accomplishment and leadership that points to a good candidate. Someone who has run a complex and multifaceted organization will be well-prepared for managing the executive branch.

Skills

Being student body president is nearly a full-time job. Time management is crucial to balancing the position with normal student responsibilities. Part and parcel with time management is having a well-organized administration — this means the ability to manage effectively and efficiently. He or she must also be able to react to the unexpected and galvanize a large network of people.