2011-12 Student Association Candidates Interviews

SA President Candidates

Nick Spengler
Class of 2012
Major: Biology
Hometown: Buffalo, N.Y.
Current Positions: Student Association director of student programming

1. Why are you running for president?

I definitely want to get more involved in [Student Association] next year. I’m currently an SA executive board member so I’ve spent the year watching [senior] Doug Sinski, the current president, and I feel I am very qualified now after all my experiences: three years in SA. I feel I could do a good job.

2. What do you think are some important qualities for members of the Student Association to have, personally and professionally?

I think one of the most important qualities is approachability. I think it’s very important for people to be able to come up to the SA president, or any executive member, and express their opinions. In the end, that’s what we’re there for, to re-voice their opinions and vote in their favor. If they can come up to us and tell us what they think, then we’re succeeding.

3. Are there any specific actions or decisions of the 2010-2011 SA executive board that you particularly agree or disagree with?

The majority I agree with, because I was on the board. Whenever we talked about anything, we all got our opinions out there so we usually ended up compromising. There really isn’t anything I strongly disagree with. The concert budget increase – it was originally much smaller and I strongly pushed the increase. As director of student programming, I chair [Activities Commission] and that was really my branch.

4. What do you think the role of the SA Constitution should be?

I’m pretty conservative. I’m going to hold to it pretty strongly, but there are definitely times when leniency is accepted. For the most part, it’s the binding laws of SA. I think SA has functioned very successfully for many years and I’m proud of it. We are unique compared to other schools and a lot of people want to change us to make us more conformed, because their systems work also. But our system works; I have no need to change it. I agree there’s a lot of authority confined in very few people, so I wouldn’t be opposed to handing out accountability to these people and maybe including some way that students could approach SA and change things. I’m not changing the constitution the way a lot of people have voiced; I like the way it works right now.

5. Do you think that students understand SA, and do you have any ideas to increase understanding?

I’d say there are very few people who actually know what SA is and understand it. If elected I will definitely work strongly with public relations to make SA not just a common name, but a common friendly name. I want people to know SA, to respect it, and to be happy that we have it. I’m going to work hard to change that next year.

6. How have your experiences prepared you to be a member of SA?

I’ve been going to every SA meeting I could for the last three years. I’m currently on the executive board and last year I was on a standing committee executive board. I think I know the inner workings of it very well after these three years. Being on the executive board, I’ve already been approached by students with opinions and I feel that helps qualify me.

7. Do you have any plans should you be elected?

I have a few PR plans. I want to create a video to circulate online about SA, and I want to start working on posters. As far as plans go, I’m not looking to change much. I’m looking at another year similar to this previous year; another successful year.

8. Why are you the best candidate for this position?

Best is a highly relative term; I feel that all three candidates have strengths and weaknesses. I’ll say I’m the best candidate if the students elect me, but if they elect someone else, clearly that’s the best candidate. There are three different candidates, three very different candidates, and we’ll see which one the students want.

Michael Cooke
Class of 2013
Major: Undeclared - either business administration or accounting. (Minor: environmental studies)

Hometown: Massapequa, N.Y.
Current Positions: Class president, Inter-Residence Council programming coordinator 

1. Why are you running for president?

Initially I was running for director of [Activities Commission], but through the discussion about it, I was told that if your heart’s not in it, don’t run. I felt like that was kind of a stepping stone to president. I wanted, by the time I leave, to be in a position where I could affect change on the campus that I felt needed to take place so now I’m running because I was encouraged not to wait. 

2. What do you think are some important qualities for members of the Student Association to have, personally and professionally?

I think this year’s board works very well together; they’re all good friends, and I think that’s really important, and that’s why they’ve been effective at what they do. Most importantly, I think that everyone should be unafraid to express their views. I know now, listening to different people speak, that everyone does have their own take on things and everyone is focusing on the same issues but with their own ways of solving them. I think everyone needs to be able to speak their mind and then come to a compromise. 

3. Are there any specific actions or decisions of the 2010-2011 SA executive board that you particularly agree or disagree with?
The advocacy bus trip; I think [senior and outgoing director of student programming] Will [Labate] did a fantastic job with that. It was something that really needed to be done. We wanted to participate in SUNY Palooza but it was during our spring break. For the budget funeral, it wasn’t well attended, but the entire SA executive board came together to do a program and that’s kind of uncharacteristic; it’s not really their role. I was really proud of them for that.

4. What do you think the role of the SA Constitution should be?
A lot of people are talking about completely overhauling the constitution, that there needs to be more representation. What I think people don’t understand is that they’re not represented by the eight people on the executive board. Those people represent a number of standing committees that are made up of almost 100 students. I do see room for change. My main concern is that SA’s largest role be to advocate for the student body. A lot of people don’t realize that SA is involved in a lot on campus; there’s no issue that’s too big or too small. I think that’s most important, and we don’t necessarily need to make drastic changes to do that. We’re doing a good job now and we can continue on that path and make small adjustments to do better.

5. Do you think that students understand what SA does, and do you have any ideas to increase understanding?

People don’t understand how much influence we really have. There’s the [proposed] change from the five to the four course load coming up. That won’t take place while I’m here, but the planning for it does and we have influence on that. I know the SA president and the IRC chair both sit on the [Campus Auxiliary Services] board of directors; that’s everything from vending machines to dining halls to laundry. People don’t know; they don’t utilize it. There’s talk of a student senate that would create larger representation; there’d be more people involved. But, with the bus trip, originally SA commissioned three buses for it, but until Thursday of last week, there was only one bus going. I think with that kind of apathy on campus, you’re not going to get 500 kids to participate in anything. I think we need to advertise. First, I think there should be an e-mail account solely dedicated to students’ concerns, and that should be reviewed every week before executive meetings. I know that now all of the business that goes to SA, the exec board sees that first and each individual is supposed to look it over during the week and then they discuss it, and the same should go for that. People should be able to voice their concerns and talk it over. In order to market that idea there needs to be fliers and people need to understand that every concern is for our time. 

6. How have your experiences prepared you to be a member of SA?

Everything that I’ve stepped up into, I’ve seen the way it’s done first. There was somebody there before me that I looked up to and then took on that role. There’s a programming committee, and I know that before [junior and director of student programming] Nick Spengler, who was in my position last year, they generally use their committee to do work but there’s been change in IRC so it falls more to me than it did to Nick. So I’ve gotten a lot better at organization because programs include everything from advertising, food, space, etcetera. I’ve gotten really good at advertising, handling responsibility and coordinating. Then there’s my role in [National Residence Hall Honorary]. The entire organization is people like me, people who are involved in a ton on campus, and I think that’s always given me the support I need to keep things going. 

7. Do you have any plans to alter or expand the scope of the position for which you are running?

I’ve talked about my idea for the e-mail account, that people should be able to voice their concerns. I think the huge issue that nobody is making a big deal about is the course change. It’s a change that’s [potentially] coming; there’s nothing we can do about that, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Four courses makes it easier to fulfill requirements, but I think the purpose of a liberal education is that you can explore your interests and take a ton of courses. When you change to four courses, you lose that opportunity. The president sits on the strategic planning committee, so if I was elected I would suggest that we create, within each department, maybe one-credit or even zero-credit exploratory programs where you’re not focused so much on grades and tests, but on real learning. As far as [the] budget, we’re a little late. Cuts are already made and coming, but at least for the next 10 percent cut, it’s only a proposed budget and we still have the opportunity to affect change. We didn’t attend SUNY [Student Assembly] this year, and I don’t think that was necessarily a mistake because the organization isn’t really effective in what it’s supposed to do; they can’t pass binding resolutions. But, SUNY is made up of 64 schools and something like 500,000 students, and I think that there is definitely power in numbers, and when people realize how many of us there are, there’s no reason that we can’t effectively lobby the state. As president, you can attend as a voting member, and I think I’d use that opportunity to suggest changes in the organization that would help us better advocate for ourselves. 

8. Why are you the best candidate for this position?

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I was better than anyone, but I do have an advantage in that I’m the youngest candidate. I don’t know if that sounds like an advantage, but I’m the only candidate that could have two years, should I be re-elected. Even if I wasn’t, I would still be on campus and therefore the transition to the next person would be that much easier. I know in stepping up to positions this year that there’s a disconnect in the transition, and in a role like president where there are a ton of responsibilities, it’s a huge deal. So I would say that’s an advantage.

Nick Pesce
Major: Business administration and sociology
Hometown: Suffolk County, N.Y.
Current Positions: President and founding father of Alpha Kappa Psi professional business fraternity, justice on student court

1. Why are you running for president?

I’ve been on the student court for a little over a year and a half so I saw a lot of stuff going on with [Student Association]. Through court hearings I saw that there are possible changes that should be made, and I’ve also represented some organizations in the past at SA meetings. Either through the student court or through that, I’ve been to a lot of SA meetings and I feel like I have something that could contribute. I’ve had a lot of leadership experience and I feel I have a different perspective that I could bring to SA.

2. What do you think are some important qualities for members of the Student Association to have, personally and professionally?

They should be able to listen to what the representatives have to say, and not just the representatives, but the student body in general. They should be willing to hear the other opinions because truthfully, the SA exec[utive board members] are supposed to be guides. They’re supposed to be leading in the direction of SA, it’s not supposed to be just their voices that are heard and that’s kind of what’s going on right now. They should be good listeners, and they should be encouraging discussion. They should be driven; they should be good at leading, good at managing and representing because they are the liaison between the student body and the administration. I think that you should be passionate but you should also not make it personal. In the past it’s been easy to see how it’s gotten personal, and as a result the way that things went in SA were often not as efficient as they could have been. It’s important to know the task at hand and remember who you’re representing. The student body is the most important thing and you shouldn’t lose sight of that.

3. Are there any specific actions or decisions of the 2010-2011 SA executive board that you particularly agree or disagree with?

Truthfully, I stuck out of SA a little bit this year. I’m not as involved as I was in the past, mainly because I wasn’t sure what I was doing in terms of whether I was going to run or not. I’ve been focusing on getting my fraternity prepared for if I do leave. I basically got that started so I want to make sure that’s stable. It’d be irresponsible to do anything else. Of course I guess what I support the most is the fact that it is a referendum year and that they are increasing the mandatory student activity fee. It’s been $85 for a long time and I feel that extra $15 of course could be given back to the student organizations, or it could be added back to the student account reserves so in case down the road we have another problem, we can fall back on that if need be. I’m obviously supporting the referendum; it allows SA to function. Also, with the [State University of New York] budget cuts; I support the trip that they’re organizing. I think it’s really great.

4. What do you think the role of the SA Constitution should be?

The SA Constitution is old and I believe it should be addressed and revised. I think its purpose should be as a guideline that the SA exec has to follow. I think it should be a more unified document than it is. Currently we have different ones for the student court and for [Undergraduate Student Association Elections Committee]. Basically that leaves room for a lot of inaccuracies and debate; we find a lot of that in the student court. There’s a lot of gray area where there shouldn’t be. What it should be is something the students put together and that they feel is an efficient way in which to run that organization. More or less it’s just to serve as a guide to what the Student Association is about.

5. Do you think that students understand what SA does, and do you have any ideas to increase understanding?

I find that with my fraternity and with any organization, communication is key. What you have in the past in terms of SA is the same people involved, doing the same things year after year. It’s a cycle that keeps going and going, with nobody new and nobody fresh; just the same faces. People don’t realize how big SA is and how much it affects so many things in which they’re involved. You can go to a [Geneseo Late Knight] event and they’re involved in that. You can just be involved in an organization and there’s a good chance that [SA is] funding it. They touch a lot of what students are part of and people, I don’t feel, fully understand that and that’s why there’s a lot of apathy toward it. Though representatives are forced to go to meetings, I don’t know what attendance would be like otherwise, because I don’t think most people know what it’s about. If I was elected president one of the big things I would try to tackle is getting the word out there about SA and getting people to know what it’s all about.

6. How have your experiences prepared you to be a member of SA?

The student court has given me a lot of knowledge of governing documents – the SA Constitution itself, as well as the student court one and USAEC guidelines. It’s given me an opportunity to see how they work in relation to Student Association in pretty good detail. I’ve gathered basically every governing document from other major schools. The idea is, from this, to build the best governing documents for SA that’s possible. Obviously, Geneseo is unique in its structure and so I’m not looking to tear it apart, I just want to make sure that what’s been here for such a long time is prepared for the next 20, 30, 40 years. My dealings with SA through student court are No. 1: it’s prepared me in terms of dealing with the documents. Second is with Alpha Kappa Psi; I feel like it’s given me opportunity to network with a lot of students in the school, and it’s given me a chance to work with a lot of the administration and understand the process that organizations have to go through to get recognized. The school isn’t too fond of it getting started here. As a matter of fact, they said it might take a long time if it were to happen at all, but I pushed and the other executives and members pushed, and we got what we were told wouldn’t happen; we got it recognized and established in one semester, which was definitely unheard of. People say, in the past, that they’ll change the constitution or they’ll change SA. I feel like this shows my determination, this shows my passion, and this shows that there’s something I care about. I’m going to put my all into it and I’m going to work my best to see it happen.

7. Do you have any plans should you be elected?

I’ve talked to [senior and outgoing SA President] Doug Sinski and he said that they have looked into revising SA documents but they believe that it’s fine as is. I’m still not satisfied and I know people still aren’t satisfied with the way SA is run, no matter what the current exec says. One of the first things I would be doing is setting up a constitution and guidelines review committee, working off a lot of what I’ve already started, either sharing that or setting up someone that I believe would be a good fit and have the initiative to do it. It’s not something I want to just set up and leave to do its own thing. It’s something that I want to make sure happens, and make sure it’s pushed. Maybe at the end of it we’ll figure out that our current shape is fine and it’s just the people that were running it that weren’t the appropriate fit, or maybe we’ll find that things can be modified or that sections be modified or revamped. It needs to be looked at. I know that a lot of the other people that are running for SA are taking a similar stance on that and this is something that I brought up last year, and something I also brought up in the beginning of the year and it kind of got shot down. I’d make sure as president that the SA documents got looked at to make for a more fair representation of the students of Geneseo, and so more people have a say because it’s important that their voices are heard.

8. Why are you the best candidate for this position?

Similar to what I’ve already said, I am very determined, and I’m very passionate. I’m good at organization and time management. I’ve set up my schedule so as to be prepared in case I do get the position so I’ll have lighter workloads for both semesters. Other than that, I’m willing to fight for the students. I want to go around, I want to meet them, I want to understand their organizations and hear their goals. Basically, I feel like I can help them make SA what they want it to be, probably better than the other candidates could. I’m willing to do what it takes and to deal with any criticism that people might have to ensure that that happens.

SA Vice President Candidates

Tyler Ocon
Class of 2012
Major: International relations
Hometown: Wading River, N.Y.
Current Positions: Webmaster for Between the Lines

1. Why are you running for this position? 

I have experience in dealing with the College Senate as a student representative and I can carry that experience to the [Student Association vice president] position. Furthermore, I can better serve the students in every possible way by being SA VP because I would then have the ability to help all my fellow SA exec[utive board] members in their ventures as well as assist the SA president when needed. It’s all about working in the interest of the students.
2. What do you think are some important qualities for members of the Student Association to have, personally and professionally?

Personally, SA exec members need to be passionate and determined in their representation of the students – if you won’t work hard every day to give the students what they want out of their activity fees, you’re not the right person for the job. Professionally, an SA exec member needs to be organized, understanding and have an ability to see all sides of an issue and be able to effectively convey their questions and concerns in order to make the most educated decision possible. Professionalism, in this case, means doing what is best for the whole of Student Association and Geneseo.
3. Are there any specific actions or decisions of the 2010-2011 SA executive board that you especially support or disagree with?

I support SA’s withdrawal of their initial proposal to bid on the Riviera theater earlier in the year – it would have been a much bigger project than SA had initially anticipated and would not have been an effective use of activity fees. I also support SA’s proposal of increasing the mandatory student activity fee – things have simply gotten more expensive (the spring concert is an excellent example) and in order for SA to continue giving the excellent services it gives to the students, our revenue needs to adjust to the increases in cost. And, even though I’m not around to enjoy the fruits of [Activities Commission]’s labor, I wholeheartedly support SA’s decision to increase AC’s funding for what I know will be an absolute killer concert – I’ve heard rumors that Ke$ha's bringing glitter cannons. Get excited, Geneseo.
4. What do you think the role of the SA Constitution should be?

The SA Constitution is, colloquially, the “law of the land,” but it must be thoroughly examined in order to ensure that the entire student body has a say in what happens within the Student Association, not just who calls all the shots, and to reflect [the] precedent set during these past few years – the independence of the Student Court and [Undergraduate Student Association Elections Committee] are what come to my mind first – and modernize our way of doing business. I see the SA Constitution as a living document – it must be adapted and re-examined regularly in order to ensure smooth operation of the entire organization.
5. Do you think that students have an accurate understanding of what SA does? Can you think of any ways to increase two-way communication between SA and the student body?

Unfortunately, I do not believe most students really know what Student Association does for them. It’s not just concerts – we offer legal consultation, funding for events, a voice for students with the college administration, etcetera. In order to increase the communication between SA and the students, we must heavily advertise all of our services through flyers, notes in mailboxes and word-of-mouth. We must also re-examine the structure of Student Association to make it more transparent and open to all students. A little pet project of mine for next year is working with The Lamron to create a weekly column written by SA exec regarding current issues brought before SA exec and an invitation to come to regular SA meetings. I’d also like to see some sort of an open forum other than regular SA meetings where SA exec can hear the concerns of all the students – possibly during all-college hour in the Union Ballroom.

6. How have your experiences prepared you to be a member of SA?

Having run for SAVP last year, I’ve listened to students and have an excellent grasp on what they want out of the Student Association and, as you can see, it’s taught me to never give up for what you stand for and what you know you can bring to the table. As former chair of the USAEC, I’ve honed my leadership skills and my ability to make the tough decisions with as much information as possible with as much input as I can possibly get from others. Through being a Model [United Nations] member, I’ve learned the art of diplomacy and negotiation among my equals and I will absolutely bring that to the table in order to fully represent the student body. I know how to get results and I can do it quickly, and that’s what SA needs.

7. Do you have any plans to alter or expand the scope of the position for which you are running?

The vice president position is one that allows for a lot of interpretation as to the job description. Personally, I want to take the SAVP position and expand its scope far beyond budget advocacy, College Senate and club sports – I will be there to help anybody with whatever they need, whether it be a fellow SA exec member, a senior that needs help finding a job after graduation, or a freshman who just got his first traffic ticket and doesn’t know what to do. I want SA to be the organization that students look to for help about anything, not just for a purchase order, and I want to be one of the people that students can feel comfortable talking to and asking me for my help. I’m here to help, and there’s no way you can restrict that with a job description.

8. Why are you the best candidate for this position?

I am the best candidate for Vice President because I have the passion and the know-how in terms of student interests and SA bureaucracy to get results quickly and efficiently. I’m not one to accept no for an answer, and students will not hear me say no to what they want. It’s not my SA, it’s your SA. My boss is the 5,000-plus students at Geneseo. It’ll be my job to make sure the boss is happy, and it’s a job I'm more than willing to accept.

SA Director of Business Affairs Candidates

Brittany Wolf
Class of 2013
Major: Math and adolescent education
Hometown: Buffalo, N.Y.
Current Positions: Inter-Residence Council national communications coordinator

1. Why are you running for director of business affairs?

Ever since I came to Geneseo as a freshman and started getting involved in things like [Inter-Residence Council], I knew that one day I wanted to be on [the Student Association] exec[utive board]. Even last year I went to a few SA meetings and I loved the atmosphere. I wanted the opportunity to represent everyone as a part of that.

2. What do you think are some important qualities for members of the Student Association to have, personally and professionally?

I think you need to be approachable. No one’s going to want to come talk to you if they think you’re going to shoot down their ideas. With that comes an open mindedness that I think you need to have. There are so many students on campus and everyone’s going to have different ideas and different opinions, and you shouldn’t just shoot down one idea because who knows if that one idea could have been the best thing yet at Geneseo. You have to be aware of where everyone’s coming from and see everyone’s perspectives. Also you have to be very organized, like with any job, you have to have everything in line.

3. Are there any specific actions or decisions of the 2010-2011 SA executive board that you particularly agree or disagree with?

I really like the recent action with budget advocacy. There’s the trip to Albany that I [attended] and I think it will be really interesting to see how students can have an impact on everything that goes on here. I think we heard a lot more about SA recently with the budget cuts, with SA taking it to the students’ hands and showing we have the power to do things. Last week they had the funeral, shredding the course syllabi that are no longer here. Taking action in that way is something I really agree with. 

4. What do you think the role of the SA Constitution should be?

I think besides being the guidelines for SA meetings, it’s helpful to make sure that each SA executive committee member is held accountable for their actions. It gives a detailed description of each position and what needs to be done, and I think it’s good for students to be able to hold those members accountable and see if they’re doing their jobs right. It also allows other SA executive members to hold each other accountable. It keeps everyone in check.

5. Do you think that students understand what SA does, and do you have any ideas to increase understanding?

I don’t think a lot of people really understand what SA even is. I think one way to fix that is to make sure SA executives are more visible on campus, like going to different events and showing that we’re students just like you and we’re part of this. SA funds so many different clubs on campus and I’m sure students in those clubs don’t even realize sometimes how much SA is there to help them. 

6. How have your experiences prepared you to be a member of SA?

Being on the IRC executive committee, and last year I was an IRC representative for Onondaga Hall. I’ve had to work a lot in the SA office; I hold office hours there. With my job we get our own budget and whenever we have to do memos or do readings to be able to fundraise, it’s all dealing with financial policy and if elected, that’s something I would have to know inside and out and be able to help other club treasurers or anybody to interpret that. I think me dealing with that over the past year, and even last year a little, has definitely helped me. I’ve kind of learned the ins and outs of financial policy without meaning to; it just came along with the job.

7. Do you have any plans should you be elected?

I think my biggest concern is going to be making sure that anybody who is recognized as a student club and wants to get funding understands how that works. I’m trying to start a club now and I know if I wasn’t aware of all these financial policies, I would have no idea how a budget starts. I would never want that to hinder someone; I don’t think that should ever be an issue. If you want to do something and the college is letting you, you might as well take it all the way and get funding. I’d want to work with all the treasurers making sure they understand everything that’s going on so they don’t accidentally do something to hinder their club in any way.

8. Why are you the best candidate for this position?

I think my passion for it, as cheesy as it may sound. I absolutely love the atmosphere in the SA office and I want to be a part of this and be able to represent the student body. I think my experience over the past two years has definitely helped me become qualified for it, and now I feel like it’s the perfect time. I’m moving off campus next year and I think it will be cool seeing how life works on campus and off campus and trying to make sure everyone understands how SA works.

Robert (Logan) Thompson
Class of 2012
Major: Economics and theatre
Hometown: Lynbrook, N.Y.
Current Positions: Treasurer of Pride Alliance 

1. Why are you running for director of business affairs?

I feel that it’s important to have someone in the position that knows what they’re doing when it comes to budgets and keeping an eye on people’s spending. The SA exec[utive] board as a whole is in charge of a $1.2 million budget and I feel that I’m responsible and have enough experience to effectively do that job.

2. What do you think are some important qualities for members of the Student Association to have, personally and professionally?

The members of the SA board should, for one, be able to listen and understand what the students need because while we are voted into a position, it’s still the students’ money and it should be spent how the students want it to be spent. If students want to go to conferences, as long as it’s reasonable and safe, they should be able to go. If students want to start new clubs, they should be able to use SA money. Executives should also have good interpersonal skills for working with each other and other high-ups in the faculty. You need to have a level head on your shoulders and not a huge ego, otherwise you’re going to try to do things how you want and oftentimes at the expense of other people, which is not how SA should be run.

3. Are there any specific actions or decisions of the 2010-2011 SA executive board that you particularly agree or disagree with?

There’s only really one, but I have a personal investment in that decision, so I don’t have an unbiased view. Other than that, I think they’ve been running things pretty effectively. [Senior and director of student affairs] Will Labate has been promoting a lot with the different cultural groups as [Alliance for Community Enrichment] chair, which has been a wonderful thing. Overall, I haven’t really seen anything wrong with how they’ve been running SA.

4. What do you think the role of the SA Constitution should be?

The SA Constitution is there to make sure that SA is being run as effectively as possible and to limit any possibilities of corrupt leaders, more or less. I feel that the SA Constitution is starting to get outdated. There are seven voting members who have control over a $1.2 million budget and it’s not only us who are putting money into that, it’s everyone else too. I don’t know how it would be possible to effectively give more of a voice to the students, maybe some sort of change in how the voting process works in passing or failing proposals, but I think it’s definitely something that needs to be looked into to make the constitution as effective as possible. 

5. Do you think that students understand what SA does, and do you have any ideas to increase understanding?

I feel that students who have a personal interest understand how it works; people in different clubs, all the people who either go to SA, ACE, or [Academic Affairs Committee] meetings. Those people know how SA runs, but there are a lot of people on campus who don’t even know what SA is. They’ll see things like the Ke$ha concert that they know the school is doing, but most of them don’t know who exactly it is that’s putting on such events. I think that’s a problem. We’re all paying $85 and maybe 40 percent of us know what SA is and what SA does. So I think SA needs to get its voice out there and different standing committees need to be more visible to the students. There’s traditional advertisement and word of mouth; even when I was trying to get signatures, I explained to at least 50 different people what SA is. When they walked away from me, they at least had a better of idea of who SA is.

6. How have your experiences prepared you to be a member of SA?

Being treasurer of Pride [Alliance] definitely helped. I’ve had a role in seeing how SA and SA bylaws work and how the budgeting process specific to SA works. I’ve also had jobs in which I’ve had to balance budgets and make sure that different people are spending their money correctly, which is a big part of what the director of business affairs does. The business affairs person has to go through paperwork and put together the minutes for the different meetings for different proposals, which I’ve had a lot of experience working with. Even other sorts of leadership roles in the Boy Scouts [of America] or even supervising in [Red Jacket] help; I understand how to work with people and effectively try to get things done.

7. Do you have any plans should you be elected?

I want to take more of an active role in the different clubs. I don’t know personally how much business affairs deals with [Inter-Residence Council] or the different standing committees, but I want to make sure that I see exactly what’s going on with them. The money obviously gets spent, and I want to see that it’s spent in a way that’s beneficial to all the students, as much as possible.

8. Why are you the best candidate for this position?

I have a lot of different experiences that were involved with budgets and working with people. I feel that I’m very responsible and can get this job done very well.

SA Director of Student Programming Candidates

Heather Bristol
Class of 2012
Major: International relations and Spanish
Hometown: Webster, N.Y.
Current Positions: contemporary forum coordinator for Activities Commission 

1. Why are you running for director of student programming?

This position I’m in now is my first real programming experience and I’ve loved it. I want to get a chance to work with the AC board as a whole and to get involved in affecting the greater campus. I want to create more collaboration between the different standing committees, between [Student Association] and academics and between SA and the students. I think that getting involved in SA exec[utive board] is a way to do that.

2. What do you think are some important qualities for members of the Student Association to have, personally and professionally?

I feel that they need to be approachable. SA is supposed to work with the students, so students need to feel that they can come talk to or seek help from any of the SA exec members. They need to be organized and have a good understanding of what their position is. The director of student programming, for instance, is also the chair of AC. That particular position needs to have an understanding of what all of the members of AC board do. That also applies to the other SA exec members; to have an understanding of what each other does, as well as what the standing committees do and where funds are being allocated.

3. Are there any specific actions or decisions of the 2010-2011 SA executive board that you particularly agree or disagree with?

I feel that the push for budget advocacy has been really great. I think that [senior and outgoing director of student affairs] Will Labate, in particular, has done a great job with that. I was at the [Academic Affairs Committee] meeting last week and also at [Inter-Residence Council] and it seems there’s a push for that across SA exec, which is obviously good. I also feel that the push in the upcoming referendum for an increase will really benefit the programs on campus.

4. What do you think the role of the SA Constitution should be?

It should serve as a guideline. I don’t think it’s something that should be all-powerful, or completely changed. I think it has served well as it is; as a guideline of how things should operate. It helps to create consistency in how meetings are run and creates an understanding of what different positions are supposed to do.

5. Do you think that students understand what SA does and do you have any ideas to increase understanding?

In my experience, when I was petitioning, a lot of students didn’t know what SA was and I had to explain that it was their student government. On the SA website, there aren’t links to the standing committees’ websites, so I think that decreases each committee’s understanding of each other and of SA as a whole. Each standing committee is made up of so many members and SA represents so many clubs; that’s a lot of members of campus that are indirectly being affected. I feel that’s one thing that should be changed. All of the committees and organizations should be more accessible to each other, for instance, online. I also think that [we should be] doing things such as creating a blog to serve as a forum for students to comment on things SA has or hasn’t done, or things they’d like to see happen; I think that’d be really good for people to get their feelings out there and also to make SA more accessible. I think students don’t necessarily want one more meeting to go to a week, but just being able to go on the Internet and make comments or suggestions would work. I want to make it more clear that SA meetings are open to all students, not just the members of SA-funded clubs. Students are welcome to come to any of the meetings.

6. How have your experiences prepared you to be a member of SA?

Being a member of AC, I’ve gotten to attend and help with each programmer’s events and I also met and worked with different exec members. I feel like I have a good understanding of what each position does, as well as what goes into programming in general. I’ve gotten to see a lot of what [junior] Nick Spengler, the current director of student programming, does and what goes into the position. I have a good understanding of who to contact and what the whole process is for the programmers and the board that I would be chairing.

7. Do you have any plans should you be elected?

My main goal is to create more of a community feel so that the different standing committees would interact more and so there’d be more collaboration between the academic departments and the organizations on campus. I think, as it is right now, there’s a kind of delineation between academics and the extracurricular. I feel like with more collaboration, the word would get out more for events, attendance would be higher, and better events could be brought to campus. If elected, I would help make everyone aware of the resources that are available to them as members of different standing committees, clubs, and organizations, and to help them make the most of their time here.

8. Why are you the best candidate for this position?

I feel that I am well organized and open minded. Being on AC already and having this programming experience, I have a good understanding of what the programming members of the board do. I’m learning how to advertise, which is necessary for any leadership position, for getting the word out. I really want to create more of a collaborative effort and I think that’s part of what makes me a good candidate for this position. I want to create a community; that’s a big part of what Geneseo is about.

 Bernard Goehle
Class of 2012
Major: Political science and adolescent education with a social studies concentration
Hometown: Smithtown, N.Y.
Current Positions: Vice chair of Activities Commission, Saratoga Hall Council Inter-Residence Council representative 

1. Why are you running for director of student programming?

I just joined [Activities Commission] because the former vice chair is overseas and I was approached by [junior and director of student programming] Nick Spengler to become his vice chair. Now I’m running to replace him as director of student programming. They’re doing great things, but there are areas I can see for improvement and I want to make AC open for everybody. Right now students don’t really understand what AC is, and I want to make it so everybody knows what we do and understands that if there’s ever a time that they have questions, comments, concerns or ideas, they can just come talk to us.

2. What do you think are some important qualities for members of the Student Association to have, personally and professionally?

They need to be strong leaders. On Activities Commission, the director of student programming directs works with 17 other people. It’s a lot of people to talk to and communicate with. You have to be a strong communicator, and you have to be available and open to talk to people. Especially for AC, you’re a facilitator. Everyone else does a lot of the work; you know about the budget, you know about the guidelines, the rules, and your resources, and then when they come to you, you have to be the leader that knows what they need and be able to give it to them. Candidates need to be honest and open with the people voting for them; they have to have the ability to communicate their ideas in an effective way.

3. Are there any specific actions or decisions of the 2010-2011 SA executive board that you particularly agree or disagree with?

I think they’re doing a great job this year. At the beginning of the year with [senior and SA President] Doug [Sinski]’s proposed buying the Riviera [theater], I didn’t agree with that, but it didn’t happen. The only thing that I have an issue with is how much of the reserves they’re spending. The reserves are there for the future in case the referendum doesn’t pass or an emergency happens where we need money quickly. If there was one thing I’d do differently, I would watch how much we were spending from the reserves. I don’t know the exact numbers offhand, but I’d want to be sure there was enough money there in case something happens.

4. What do you think the role of the SA Constitution should be?

It’s the guiding document; without a constitution you are nothing. It’s there to tell what you can and can’t do, your limits and your opportunities, because there is room for opportunity in there. The same with financial policy, because they’re put apart, but they’re really very closely related. You have to follow the financial policy, and you have to follow the rules. People want to change the rules, and that’s why we have constitutional referendums. I do support looking into a constitutional referendum, and looking into ideas for the constitution. I don’t have anything set in stone, because I’m one voice, and I want to hear everyone’s voices, especially on that topic.

5. Do you think that students understand what SA does and do you have any ideas to increase understanding?

I think students have a vague understanding of what SA is and the fact that it’s the student government that leads and spends their money, but I don’t think they have a real understanding of how the committees work. I don’t think they have a good enough understanding of who’s in the general assembly of SA. When you say that you’re an SA rep, people think that you’re on SA, but you’re not. Everyone is on SA. Everyone has the opportunity to come to SA and talk. I sit in the back of the room, I go to the meetings, and it’s something I really want to see out there. People don’t know that SA is such a powerful voice for them. If you go to the president – and Doug just did this last week – College Republicans went to Doug and said they wanted to bring Karl Rove, and he brought that back and asked if anyone wanted to help. That’s the proper way SA should be used; it’s the agenda of the students, not the eight people that sit in the front of the room. There’s always the advertising and the publicity; that hasn’t worked in the past. There needs to be a new attack, whether that attack is open forums or just allowing students to know what our vision is for the future. SA needs to be more than just a logo on the bottom of a piece of paper, it needs to be a forum for people to come talk to us, and the only way to do that is to engage them by coming to their clubs and saying “this is who we are” – communicating the fact that we’re with them.

6. How have your experiences prepared you to be a member of SA?

I’ve been involved with hall council since I first got here, and I did a lot of programming. I then went onto [Inter-Residence Council] last year in Erie Hall and I once again was involved a lot in programming. I’ve worked with [Campus Auxiliary Services] this year, once again on hall council, and now on AC I’ve learned how everyone works together. My experiences taught me how programming works, how to contact the different groups on campus you need to know, and how to just work with people. You have to know how to work with people. AC and being director of student programming is such a collaborative effort between people and if you don’t have that, then it breaks down. One of my weaknesses is that I’ve never written a contract for AC, because that’s not what I do, and it’s something I’ll have to learn. I’m sure there are a lot of things I’ll have to learn and I’m really excited to get in there and learn and to make AC the best it can be.

7. Do you have any plans should you be elected?

The [SA] adviser has been talking about a strategic plan, but right now what I want to do is create a vision for AC, one that can last for a while and focuses on what we want to do. In that vision, I want to get more publicity out there. The website, I believe, needs fixing. Something I would do right off the bat is to create a new position on AC, webmaster/photographer, and that job would be to make the website look great and up to date. We have a calendar of our events up, but it’s never caught up to date. There are a ton of people that work on it right now and it’s starting to break down. We want to get a lot of those hands out of there make it one person working on it. Another area I want to work on, aside from that, is the position on AC called Mac’s Place. It’s all based in the Union, MacVittie [College] Union. It was meant to be a forum for up and coming bands, comedy acts and other types of acts. In the last few years it has turned into just bands, and that’s great, we love having bands on campus. First I want to change the name of Mac’s Place, because it doesn’t represent what it does anymore. And then I want to look into making a new position, or bringing it into someone else’s current position, to bring comedy back to Geneseo. There hasn’t been a lot of comedy on campus the past couple years, and that’s one of the first things that came to mind when thinking what I want to do. We need to hit all the areas of entertainment.

8. Why are you the best candidate for this position?

I have clear ideas, and I have developed leadership skills not only through my involvement in IRC and hall council, but also I’m a student supervisor for CAS and as part of my responsibility, I supervise the students. I’ve learned how to take their skills, know where they’re good, and help them improve. Those are all important skills for a leader, especially on a board like Activities Commission. It’s a team atmosphere; everyone works as a team to achieve a goal.

SA Director of Academic Affairs Candidates

Justin Shapiro
Class of 2013
Major: History
Hometown: Buffalo, N.Y.
Current Positions: Treasurer of Model United Nations, treasurer of Academic Affairs Committee, Budget Review Committee member 

1. Why are you running for director of academic affairs?

I want to make sure that the students receive the maximum they possibly can for their student activity fee. I’m running so I can continue to improve on SA’s legacy, and by that I mean increasing transparency, increasing visibility and ensuring that students are able to have their voices heard. I want to help continue to improve [Academic Affairs Committee]. I think it’s a great standing committee with a lot of potential. Past chairs have certainly improved on it, and I think there’s still more that can be done.

2. What do you think are some important qualities for members of the Student Association to have, personally and professionally?

I think SA executives should be passionate about SA, and I’m sure that they all are. I’ve heard their speeches, and I think they were great. I think that SA executives should remember the Latin motto, non nobis solum: not for ourselves alone. Some people may run to pad their résumé, to increase their political standing in Geneseo or to increase connections to faculty. But I think it’s most important for candidates to remember that they run for the student body, not for themselves. A really great SA candidate would put the students’ priorities above his or her own.

3. Are there any specific actions or decisions of the 2010-2011 SA executive board that you particularly agree or disagree with?

I particularly agree with increasing the amount allocated to the concerts. In having a concert with a big name artist, it increases the regional attention that’s placed on Geneseo. One can even extend that to turning it into a recruitment strategy. I agree with the implicit expansion of SA, and by that I mean, the SA publicity. [This current administration] has been featured in The Lamron more so than they were my freshman year, and also the Riviera theater idea. That didn’t go through, but I thought it was a good idea because it highlighted what SA can do for the students. It might not happen, it might not be feasible, but it shows what the money can be used for. I also appreciate the revision of financial policy that took effect this year; it streamlined the entire process, reduced the bureaucracy, and made things easier for students. That’s the main thing they’ve done; made things more accessible for students.

4. What do you think the role of the SA Constitution should be?
I think it should be a versatile document. I think it should have the ability to adapt to changing student needs. It’s an old document and there haven’t been any major changes made in a while. I think the SA Constitution should be a document that allows the student body to participate in the allocation of that $1.2 million. I think it should serve as an overarching document, but also a document whose words are not immutable; a document that allows for the changing student attitudes and that reduces student apathy by increasing their participation in student government.

5. Do you think that students understand what SA does and do you have any ideas to increase understanding?

I think it depends on the students. There are the students that are really actively involved and attend SA meetings, work for The Lamron, GSTV or other really important organizations. I think they most certainly understand what SA does. Some students might not understand completely what SA does, and that blame shouldn’t be attributed to the students. SA is fully responsible for ensuring that every student understands what SA is. The full scope is not readily apparent, and SA needs to rectify that situation. Publicity is thrown around a lot, and yes, I think that publicity is a great idea. We need to show that we are the face of the students and we are their duly-elected representatives. Also, I think that SA should advertise the opportunities that are available to students. I think one of the best ways to increase understanding of what SA does is to ensure that more students are represented in SA, or more students have the ability to access SA. Part of that is publicity, and part of that is increasing representation in SA. It’s a tricky thing to define. To think concretely about changing SA requires some experience with the inner workings of SA. Transparency can be funneled down to the standing committees. For instance, AAC has been making steps to update its website, and I think that those websites should be more accessible.

6. How have your experiences prepared you to be a member of SA?

I’ve been attending SA meetings regularly since 2009 when I was elected Model UN treasurer, so since my second semester freshman year, I haven’t missed a meeting. I understand SA; I’m familiar with the changes they’ve made in recent years. Also my experience as treasurer for Model UN and AAC has imbued me with the ability to understand their financial policy. By that, I want to highlight that understanding their financial policy also introduces me to the way SA functions in general. Exposure to financial documents necessitates exposure to the SA Constitution. My experience on a standing committee, I believe, has furthered my own knowledge of how SA, as an organization, functions.

7. Do you have any plans should you be elected?

What I want to do is improve upon the changes made by recent AAC chairs. One of my ideas is to have a life raft debate. That’s basically an open forum where representatives from different departments come out and say “you’re stranded on a lifeboat, why do you need to know sociology, or business administration or history.” I think it’s especially relevant in light of the recently proposed budget cuts and the deactivation of programs. I believe the life raft debate will further solidify the connection between administration and students. That’s ultimately my goal –  to be a liaison between administration and students.

8. Why are you the best candidate for this position?

I’ve had a year of experience on the AAC executive board; I understand how the organization works, how its financial system works, and what it’s like to work with other people on the AAC executive board. I’ve been actively involved in SA procedure since my freshman year. I have a passion for SA. Most importantly, I feel as though I would uphold the essential underlying theme of non nobis solum; not for ourselves alone. If elected, I would not be doing it for myself, or any sort of potential advantage. I’d be doing it because I have a passion for student government, and I have a passion for acting on behalf of the students.

SA Director of Public Relations Candidates

Lindsey Hebell
Class of 2012
Major: Communication
Hometown: Webster, N.Y.
Current Positions: Limelight and Accents coordinator 

1. Why are you running for director of public relations?

I’m really passionate about public relations, obviously, with communication as my major. I think I would do a very good job and I feel I have the experience for it.

2. What do you think are some important qualities for members of the Student Association to have, personally and professionally?

Dignity and honesty are definitely important. I’ve been hearing a lot in the past few days with the elections coming up, and I actually talked to a member of the last year’s board, and she said to remember that you’re doing this for the students and not for any outside gain. I’m really trying to take that into consideration and heed her words, because obviously she’s speaking from experience. It is “Student” Association, and I want to represent the students when I go into this position. 

3. Are there any specific actions or decisions of the 2010-2011 SA executive board that you particularly agree or disagree with?

One that I particularly agreed with was the action to increase the concert budget. Being on [Activities Commission] I’m maybe a little biased, it’s a little close to home. In the past we’ve had these struggles, like SA had the decision to not go with the concert, which was a decision that I did not necessarily agree with; there was a lot of controversy over that. And although it was controversial to dip into our reserve money and create a concert for last year, I think that would have done a lot for the students morale and they would have believed in us a lot more. Now we had to spend this exorbitant amount of money for Ke$ha, which is fine because everyone’s really excited about it, but I feel like there’s a disparity between the two and we could have done a little more strategic decision-making there. I do agree with the increase of student activity fee money so that we don’t have to dip into reserves and we can increase our concerts budget, or just the budget for clubs in general so as to make sure that everyone has a wider representation and we have more funds for the things students want.

4. What do you think the role of the SA Constitution should be?

I think students should be aware of it. It’s amazing to me how unaware students are. Dealing with SA on a daily basis I’ve come to learn what it is and what SA stands for. Every person on campus is a part of SA when they pay their mandatory student fee. It basically outlines each of our positions and their roles in everything. I think a better understanding of the constitution from the student body would help its role in Geneseo. 

5. Do you think that students understand what SA does and do you have any ideas to increase understanding?

As public relations, that’s going to be my main job and in the past couple years, I haven’t seen as much as I’d like from SA. [Junior and director of student programming] Nick Spengler and I are both on the AC board and we’ve worked well together for a while now, bouncing ideas off each other. We were talking about how it’d be great to have our faces at more events. With a greater understanding of who the exec board is, there wouldn’t necessarily be these negative feelings students sometimes hold against SA. If they had a better understanding of who we are and what we’re doing for them, it would work better.

6. How have your experiences prepared you to be a member of SA?

Being the Limelight and Accents coordinator, I was elected last year, so I have a solid four semesters under my belt in which I’ve worked very closely with SA.

7. Do you have any plans should you be elected?

Create a list of all the student groups and underneath that all their major events throughout the year; we want to make sure we have our faces at all of them. For example, talking about Pride [Alliance], Drag Ball and “Gay, Fine by Me;” those are some of the programs they put on during the year and we want to make sure we have a representative at each major event, at least one or two of us. I haven’t exactly figured out other concrete plans as to how we’re going to do that, but that’s the general theme. Make a greater awareness that students are part of SA and who the exec board is in relation to what we’re doing for them.

8. Why are you the best candidate for this position?

I would say that my passion for public relations in general shows that I’m in this for the long haul and it’s not just something I’m doing for fun. I want to do this for the students, and to gain experience for them. I think that I would have the best ideas on how to get more visibility for SA.

SA Director of Inter-Residence Affairs Candidates

Carly Annable
Class of 2013
Major: Anthropology (English minor)
Hometown: Syracuse, N.Y.
Current Positions: National communications coordinator for Inter-Residence Council, secretary for National Residence Hall Honorary, vice president for Class of 2013

1. Why are you running for director of inter-residence affairs?

I firmly believe in everything that IRC stands for. I love the organization and I want to take a greater leadership role.

2. What do you think are some important qualities for members of the Student Association to have, personally and professionally?

I think it’s important to be able to separate their position on SA from who they are outside of the position. I think a lot of times people have difficulty drawing the line between who someone is when they’re in a leadership position, and who they are outside. I think being able to separate that will decrease any drama.

3. Are there any specific actions or decisions of the 2010-2011 SA executive board that you particularly agree or disagree with?

I like the fact that they’re pushing to raise the mandatory student activity fee. I think it should have happened a long time ago. With increasing prices in everything from average stuff needed for programs to [Campus Auxiliary Services] food, I think increasing the budget will deal with having a better concert and helping organizations do what they do best.

4. What do you think the role of the SA Constitution should be?

Just to make sure there are no abuses of power; it’s a checks and balances system.

5. Do you think that students understand what SA does, and do you have any ideas to increase understanding?

I definitely think that there’s a disconnect between SA and the average student. I do understand that it’s a two-way street, that if students are paying the $85, they ought to be doing the research to see where their money is going. But I think that if SA board is advocating for the average student in places other than just clubs and pushing out money, I think that we should definitely do something to let the students know that we’re doing more than that. I’m a big fan of the trickle-down technique, where each of the standing committees informs everyone that’s on the committee that this is what we do and get information out there. As campus is right now, we have too many posters. Each residence hall has too many posters that no one even looks at anymore. Being more verbal and approachable overall would help that.

6. How have your experiences prepared you to be a member of SA?

I was a representative for Monroe Hall last year in IRC and I’m on the executive board now and I’ve been to conferences. I feel like after that, plus watching [outgoing director of inter-residence affairs and senior] Mary [Bock] do what she does and talking to her extensively, I have a good understanding of what the position involves. There’s nothing I want more right now than to be IRC chair.

7. Do you have any plans should you be elected?

Currently, IRC is a very well-oiled machine; we work very smoothly and I thank [outgoing director of inter-residence affairs and senior] Mary [Bock] for a lot of that. The only thing I could see is that we have a wellness fund with about $1,000 that any organization can use, not just residence halls, and I don’t think that’s advertised as well as it could be. If I was elected, I would work toward advertising that more.

8. Why are you the best candidate for this position?

Because, like I said before, I firmly believe in IRC. The funds that we provide to residence halls are a very important part; residence halls wouldn’t be able to put on as many or as quality programs without our funding. IRC is kind of scary to someone that isn’t aware of it. Most of the time when I mention IRC, no one really knows what I’m talking about and I go through a whole spiel explaining it. I think with my experience, I have a good understanding of what it takes to be the chair of IRC.

SUNY Voting Delegate Candidates

Malcolm Cohen
Class of 2012
Major: Political science
Hometown: Rochester, N.Y.
Current Positions: SUNY Student Assembly voting delegate, Campus Auxiliary Services representative for Seneca Hall, court reporter for the Undergraduate Student Court 

1. Why are you running for SUNY Student Assembly voting delegate?

I feel that Geneseo needs to be represented in statewide student government. We have a student government here that represents our interests to the administration here, but we need a voice in the statewide student government that does the same thing at a more broad level. Historically, there’s been little, if any, interest in student assembly.

2. Are there any specific actions or decisions of the 2010-2011 SA executive board that you particularly agree or disagree with?

[Senior and Student Association President] Doug Sinski feels that student assembly is worthless as an organization and should not be participated in at all. I feel that he is derelicting his duty as president. Geneseo is entitled to two voting delegates at every conference.

3. What do you think the role of the SA Constitution should be?

Constitutions are actually my specialty; I rewrote the student government constitution for [Monroe Community College] singlehandedly. It’s in part because of that and my familiarity with constitutions and bylaws that I got appointed as Director of Rules this academic year in [the State University of New York Student Assembly]. One of the things that I’m doing is helping a lot of other schools rewrite their constitutions. Fact of the matter is any constitution is fundamental and has to do a couple of things. It has to set up the structures of the government, the basic institutions, as it exists here at Geneseo at the moment at least. The role of the constitution is to set up these structures and then enable them to function well. That’s something that’s often misunderstood; there are many elements of functioning well, one of which is protecting the rights of those that the government represents.

4. Do you think that students understand what SA does and do you have any ideas to increase understanding?

Overall, not just here, not just in New York; students generally don’t understand their student government, if they even know it exists to begin with. If they do know they have one, they often don’t understand what its primary purpose is. More people know that we have a local student government here, than a statewide student government. The same goes for every SUNY campus. 

5. How have your experiences prepared you to be a member of SA?

I’ve been to many of these conferences before, both at my last school and this past fall. One thing that every conference has had in common is the fact that they sometimes devolve into horrendous parliamentary nightmares. I’m able to keep track of where things are to an extent – at a past conference, I was literally the only person in the room that was able to get us out of the parliamentary nightmare we had walked into. I had to temporarily preside over the meeting to get the assembly out of its mess and back on track.

6. Do you have any plans should you be elected?

The role itself, the duties, assuming I can get to conferences, isn’t one that can be expanded or contracted. The delegates go, they conduct themselves in a manner befitting elected representatives, and they vote on issues. There’s not much you can do change that.