Beginning at noon today, students can visit MyCourses to cast their vote for the next president of the Undergraduate Council of Students. We endorse Anthony White '13 as the next UCS president.
We are thoroughly impressed with White's accomplishments thus far. White is a member of Brown for Financial Aid and held leadership positions in the Brown Democrats. He was a major advocate for the Opportunity RI Bill, which "would provide graduates of Rhode Island colleges or universities a tax credit of up to $8,400 for their student loan payments if they remain in the state to work" and also was a key figure in establishing gender-neutral housing for freshmen. White's work reflects a set of priorities that seem very much in line with the needs of the student body.
We are even more impressed by White's platform. Though all three candidates for UCS president named financial aid and increased funding for student groups as priorities, White also discussed increasing the number of faculty members of color, an important priority for a school where faculty composition does not match a stated commitment to diversity. White also hopes to establish a student advocacy program, not only to help students gain knowledge of their rights, but also as a centralized source of aid for students navigating Brown's bureaucracy.
White strikes a balance between his opponents, Robert Bentlyewski '13 and David Rattner '13, which we believe is ideal for the next UCS president. Bentlyewski, who has no prior experience with UCS, would rewrite its constitution entirely. We recognize that this approach could be appealing to students who feel that UCS operates inefficiently. However, we believe that having a student government in flux would miss a major opportunity to present a united, organized lobbying voice for Brown's new president to make sure her long-term priorities have an appropriate undergraduate and financial aid focus. Further, Bentlyewski's plan to combine UCS and the Undergraduate Finance Board would institutionalize a problematic system in which UCS would fund itself, not dissimilar to the unpopular UCS constitutional amendment voted down earlier this semester.
On the other end of the spectrum, Rattner has been involved with UCS since his freshman year, is currently its vice president, was Campus Life Chair and served on the Presidential Search Committee. Rattner's impressive list of accomplishments and positions is highly appealing, but we believe that White's equally impressive accomplishments outside of UCS would offer a fresher perspective from which UCS could benefit.
This was evident in the way each candidate acted during the referendum process surrounding the UCS-UFB relationship. Rattner felt that, as vice president, he should support the proposal when it was presented to the general body meeting. White voiced his objections to the referendum in the general body meeting. White's experience with UCS does not prevent him from standing up for the undergraduate body. White, who proposed the idea of UCS members taking Brown Dining Services shifts to increase their interactions with students, seems most truly invested in representing and connecting with his fellow students. We therefore encourage students not just to become involved with our student government and vote, but, more specifically, to vote for White.
See tomorrow's Herald for our endorsements for UCS Vice President and UFB Chair.
Editorials are written by The Herald's editorial page board. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
