She’s poised. She’s classy. And she’s surprisingly witty. Rachel Simpson has Ed Board completely wowed.
The girl knows her stuff, and we can’t see anyone doing a better job than she could. Don’t let the fact that she’s a first-year deter you. Simpson is completely capable of wearing the officer hat, and she is prepared to take on the huge responsibility that stands before her.
She is a first-year senator serving on the Communications Committee. She is also very familiar with the Senate Constitution, which is priceless when it comes to being vice president.
More important than that, though, she has a knack for connecting with people – an invaluable asset for a student body officer charged with training new senators.
She’s got ideas, too. She wants Senate to have more authority over the administration, to better inform the student body what the Senate is doing and a push for more advertising space on campus. Her idea for placing placards with Senate information in dorms is a simple and easy way to raise awareness.
Simpson also wants to see more advertising space on campus so students can know what’s going on. The bulletin board in Hughes-Trigg is too far out of the way; she wants to put a bulletin outside in the middle of the action, where students won’t be able to miss it. Ed Board loves this idea. This an easy, relatively inexpensive way to help improve campus communication.
Simpson had Ed Board cracking up with her half-marathon anecdote to convince us her freshman status isn’t a drawback, saying that older candidates nearing the end of the proverbial race might not have a fresh perspective or be willing to change things. (She was careful to note that not everyone gets jaded – kudos for her political acumen.)
Simpson’s new perspective is just what our Senate needs. It seems this year will be a transitional one; more senators are aware of the groups isolationist tendencies, and they’ve even had surveys admitting as much.
This awareness of a disconnect can’t get lost in the shuffling of officers. While the other candidates admittedly have experience on their side, experience doesn’t trump people skills and downright eagerness. Simpson may be less polished, but that’s the heart of her appeal.
Her enthusiasm gives a cynical Ed Board hope for what the Senate can do over the next year.
We are thinking on the bright side and looking forward to what this young and ambitious first-year has to offer SMU.
