Preston Mitchum v. Katie Hale

Editor’s note: Today, the undergraduate student body is voting for future senators of the Undergraduate Student Senate. A number of the candidates have sent in columns detailing why your vote should belong to them.

Executive director: The executive director of USS is responsible for administrative functions of the senate.

Preston Mitchum

I hope to be the next executive director of the Undergraduate Student Senate. When I first came to Kent State as a freshman, I was looking for an organization that I felt best suited me in every aspect of life. I wanted to be a member of an organization that I would be proud of and one that I could help other Kent State students. When I heard about USS from a close friend, I immediately decided to become involved. Initially, I started going to weekly meetings, and then I decided to join a standing committee. Later in the year, I decided that I was going to run for senator for student advancement, and blessed to win the position. Now as a junior, I am still an active member of the Undergraduate Student Senate and wish to be until I graduate in May 2008. I cannot explain the feeling that I get when I help students. As corny as this may sound, it gives me chills because helping others is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

I have a passion for serving the students of Kent State, and I can only hope that you give me the opportunity to prove it as I enter my final year in my undergraduate education. I have been a member of the Undergraduate Student Senate for two years, and I can attest that my experience will be the best indicator of why I should be elected executive director. I have platform goals that I know I can complete. This is one of the advantages of already being active in Student Senate. I have had the chance to see what is tangible and what is not. It is excellent for everyone to have great ideals, but if it is not tangible, those ideals would have essentially been a waste. I will not waste your time and I will do what is necessary to run an effective campus with positive leadership.

The reason I am the best candidate for executive director is my experience and my affiliation with several organizations. I am personable; therefore, I guarantee that any student will have the chance to approach me with any problem that may arise. I feel I have a way of virtually relating to every student on campus because I can offer experience, personality and knowledge. USS has given me the opportunity to establish a connection with the Kent State student body. I simply want to expand my loyalty to Kent State and other student organizations.

For a motivated, enthusiastic and attentive student leader, please make sure to vote Preston Mitchum as the next executive director of the Undergraduate Student Senate. Please visit our Web site with any questions and to view my platform. If you do this, you will see that I am the more qualified candidate and that I should be the next executive director of the Undergraduate Student Senate. Voting takes place today at www.uss.kent.edu or wfs.kent.edu. Thank you!

Katie Hale

After reading this, you have an important decision to make.

My hope is that after reading this column, your decision will become clear and you will support my candidacy for executive director. I will not try to persuade you by making false promises, or by attacking my opponent. Instead, I want to tell you why, if I am elected today, your life at Kent State will be better.

Once elected, I will waste no time in securing the following goals for you and every Kent State student: Expand Student Center hours and amenities, beginning with the lower level; provide a weekend shuttle bus from campus and off-campus to downtown; strengthen tailgating for football, and expand it to basketball; provide free USS-sponsored Web design services to student organizations; bring PickaProf.com, a nationwide academic service, to Kent State; serve as a student voice on a Main Street Kent project committee; provide USS suggestion boxes across campus to gauge valuable student input

I specifically crafted my seven platform goals in an attempt to “hit home” to every demographic of student. I have incorporated important student values to offer innovative ideas in communication, programming, entertainment, safety, academics, community outreach, and building the USS image through visibility and availability. All of these concepts serve to effectively communicate to the entire student body, not just inner student government relations. I also have detailed descriptions of how these plans will be implemented, available on the USS election Web site and confirmation from university administration that every one of these goals is feasible.

I feel it would cheat you and all students to “fluff up” my platform by including goals that I would be responsible for automatically if elected. Of course maintaining and managing the USS through placing importance on office hours, as well as holding the other senators accountable to their duties, is extremely important for the executive director to do. But that ought be done regardless. The true determining factors that should decide the best candidate are the freshest and most creative ways to improve upon your life at Kent State. Plus, having actual plans to achieve them. My candidacy does not offer more of the same old, vague promises that go nowhere with your money every year.

I also want you to know that I truly do have an all-encompassing knowledge of the USS. Also, my experience is far more vast and diverse, in that I have held leadership roles beyond just USS alone. I have proven my leadership skills and gained more than the necessary experience to serve as your USS Executive Director.

It’s time for the USS to change the ways it operates and think outside the box to produce a proactive student government, rather then one that repeats itself year after year. This is where your important decision comes in. Join me, and let’s make it a reality together. You deserve it.