This election season has certainly proved to be an exciting one, as two candidates face off to become the president of the 54th Session of Student Association. Candidates Jon Barnhart and Hari Iyer differ on issues, differ on tactics and differ on philosophies, making this campaign particularly intense. But what bothers me as a student and as a member of Student Association is how grossly unprepared Mr. Iyer will be for the office of president should he pull out a victory. His ‘protest first’ philosophy directly contradicts how SA operates. Granted, Syracuse University has a deep tradition in civil disobedience and protest, and these actions certainly have their place, but only when all other routes have first been explored.

Student Association was and has been working with administrators about MayFest even before the e-mail from Provost Spina was received by students. SA has continually met with university officials and has made significant progress towards meeting the objectives of both sides. The administration has been very open to working with SA every step of the way. During the open forum held by SA, I was appalled to see Mr. Iyer stand up and declare a day of protest in opposition to the administration. I was very relieved to walk down Euclid Avenue on Friday and see a failed protest that would have certainly hurt SA’s efforts. Is this the type of person we want as the voice of the students? The reality of the situation is that the administration holds the power at a private university, and we as students need to work with them constructively to bring about positive change. A student president needs to work together with administration, not against them, to successfully advocate for students.

This collaborative effort with administrators does not include taping a conversation with the chancellor and then sending an open e-mail to her, media outlets and 2,100 students looking to extort the truth out of her. As president of Student Association Mr. Iyer will be looking for support from the administration, yet he scorns them with blatant propaganda such as this. It will be flat out impossible for him to accomplish anything needing administrative approval if there is mutual distrust between both parties.

Mr. Iyer does not understand Student Association or how it operates, and this will lead to the downfall of the association should he be elected. I sit in the assembly every Monday night, and I have never seen Mr. Iyer in an assembly meeting. Shouldn’t Mr. Iyer be trying to learn as much as he can about SA before taking a seat as its leader? I challenge you, as a student of SU, to take a look at what is really going on in this race. Mr. Iyer dismissed the MayFest issue in the beginning of the campaign as ‘purely political’ and then came out advocating for a day of protest. Jon Barnhart knew MayFest was going to be an issue from the start and has been working throughout the campaign to advocate on behalf of students. Mr. Iyer believes in unconstructively attacking administration while Mr. Barnhart believes in working with administration to reach a common ground. Let’s put a candidate in office who understands what Student Association can do and how it operates. Experience counts here people, let’s have our votes show it!

Sincerely,

Neal CaseyAssembly Representative