In the next few weeks, we will find out who has put their name in the running for SGA president. It will soon become clear who has been properly vetted and groomed and the competitor who has the supreme irrationality and intrepidness to butt heads for control of campus politics.
Current SGA President James Fowler has laid a successful groundwork for his successors to build on, much better than many presidents before him. It takes an enormous amount of patience and determination to chip at historic campus strongholds for the goal of improving all of campus, and Fowler has done that. Now, we need someone who can pick up that torch and carry it farther than it has ever been taken at this university.
Capstonians, we need a leader to fly us into the danger zone.
Before Senator John McCain disfigured the term maverick, the identity of a live-by-the-seat-of-the-pants individual conjured images of someone who knew no boundaries and never held a predetermined agenda. Like Tom Cruise, we need a straight shooter with a daredevil attitude who will occasionally buzz a tower on a flyby.
Especially at a university dominated by tradition, we need a leader who asks “why not?” before seeking compromises on issues. The limits of our SGA and student body are self-created and self-sustained; they are not rules and laws to live by.
Kenny Loggins, in his cheesy montage theme song, nails it, “You’ll never know what you can do, until you get it up as high as you can go.” The aircraft carrier is out at sea and the fighter jet is prepped; it is time to lift off and quench the need for speed.
To do that, a larger focus on communication is a must. There is a distinct difference between transparency and engagement. The SGA can open up its documents and whatever else to students, but that has no purpose without an active push to educate all students about what the SGA actually does on a daily basis.
The SGA needs a communicator in office who will strive for openness during the entire process of governing and not just during the time for publicity.
The SGA simply cannot claim to be important if most students do not know what it does or how it affects them. Most students do not care, of course, but that should not mean the SGA has no reason to reach out to them. Governments govern all, not just those who care.
We need a leader who understands all of this. One who can capitalize on the momentum of the current administration. One who can stand up to those who may stymie campus progress. One who all students are willing to be his or her wingman anytime.
Wesley Vaughn is a junior majoring in public relations and political science. His column runs on Wednesdays.
