President: Ramon Trespalacios
The Editorial Board appreciates the increase in competition in the presidential race this year – it is a sign of a healthy, thriving democratic culture on this campus.
After much deliberation and internal debate, we endorse Ramon Trespalacios for Student Body President by a vote of 3-2 over Zane Cavender.
While we had several problems with the vague nature of Trespalacios’ communication, community and citizenship platform – Cavender’s platform is much more specific – we think his extensive network, formal and informal, will help him succeed in his desires to change the problems plaguing the community.
This is what separated him from Anthony McAuliffe as a candidate. While McAuliffe, a Senate insider, would bring a unique perspective to campus, he lacks Tresplacios’ network.
He is a rare case on this campus- a friend to almost every group, organization and community on campus. We strongly believe that a politician’s network – much more than the confines of often hallow Senate resolutions – can create cultural and communal changes on this campus much more than a bureaucratic policy can.
While we did prefer Cavender’s platform, we also agreed that the student body president does much more than just propose and implement policies. The strength of Trespalacios’ informal community network can empower real change at the most basic, foundational elements of the student body in a way that simple policy proposals are unable to. Personal relationships with leaders in all subsets of the community are vital to understanding and solving the crucial issues the next president will have to deal with, and Trespalacios has demonstrated that he will be able to use these relationships to his advantage.
As a resident assistant, student ambassador, member of three schools – Lyle, Dedman and Cox – and Greek organization leader, Trespalacios is the most connected of all presidential candidates.
Michael Graves, a junior, said, “SMU needs a cultural change, and I have full confidence in Ramon to establish a new set of academic and cultural values at this university that will progress us into our second century of educational