As stake signs decorate the pathways on campus, many students may be wondering who is behind the face that smiles back at them on their way to class. Every Student Senate position is up for grabs starting today, and deciding why you should vote for any of the candidates might be a daunting task. Considering the amount and type of campaigning the candidates are allowed, knowing who is running and what platforms they stand on is virtually impossible. Ed Board has tried to make this process a little easier. We interviewed all of the candidates running for student body president, vice president and secretary, and are here to make a few recommendations.

Starting off, we endorse sophomore Rob Hayden for student body president. Hayden caught our eye at the Substance Abuse Task Force’s town hall meeting back in October, being one of the few intelligent voices in the crowd. He has already served for two years on senate and was the chief of staff for this school year. We endorse Hayden for his down-to-earth demeanor. We believe the student body will be getting a realistic president whose agenda will remain practical when up against an unnecessarily combative senate. Hayden has a sensible approach to the task force’s list of recommendations. We believe he will work with the administration and the student body to reach a healthy compromise between what both groups want and what will actually work. Hayden might seem a bit hubristic, but he’s got the goods to back it up.

Between the two candidates running for vice president, we endorse Patrick Kobler. The sophomore’s views on how senate currently operates and the task force recommendations immediately caught our attention. We believe that Kobler will be an intelligent voice of reason and guidance to the senate. He stands on the belief that senators should work for their constituents, not themselves. Ed Board likes that Kobler wants student senators to manage their time more wisely, acting solely on what students want and not what their personal views may encompass. He views the task force’s recommendations that promote student safety as the most important, and those that treat SMU’s students like young children as impractical and inefficient. We couldn’t agree more. What’s more, out of all the years Ed Board has been interviewing candidates and making endorsements (or at least out of all the years any of our current staff members have been here), Kobler was the first candidate to suggest The Daily Campus and Student Senate strengthen its relationship to better communicate senate actions to students. A pretty simple idea, we thought.

For the position of student body secretary, we endorse sophomore Marc Bullock. Bullock and his fellow senator wrote legislation for the medical amnesty and Good Samaritan policies recommended to President Turner in the task force’s manifesto. He also said, too often the student senators are senators for themselves, not for the students and hopes this attitude will change with a new administration. We can only hope all of the newly elected senators share this viewpoint.

Student Senate elections are today and Thursday. You can vote by going online to smu.edu/elections.