2008 Woodie Awards
Campaigning with commodes
Marissa Lang
Issue date: 4/10/08 Section: News
About halfway into a two-week campaign run for the top job in the SGA, presidential candidate Jonathan Sachs is having the time of his life.
The sophomore government and politics major has had a long-standing passion for politics, and according to his mother once carried around a pocket version of the Constitution in middle school.
Sachs, who is running on the Students Party ticket, said he will bring passion to his presidency, vowing to do "nothing else" for a year.
"This isn't a sound-bite," Sachs said. "This is real."
Running on the broadest platform of the three candidates, Sachs says he sees no problem with addressing a lot of issues whether it be amplifying the student voice, improving dining services, increasing safety, becoming greener or bettering students' academic experience.
As the name of his party implies, Sachs said bringing students back to the Student Government Association is a top priority.
"They've got the government part down, they've got the administration part down, but there are still no students," said Sachs. "That's what we're doing - mobilizing the part that's not there."
How? By doing business where students do theirs, he said - the bathroom.
The Students Party has covered bathroom stalls all over campus with yellow fliers called "Flush Notes", a campaign strategy that Sachs says he will carry over into his presidency.
"It's a great way to reach people. Lots of people think students are apathetic. I say no, they're just uninformed," he said.
Sachs also wants to add the N.I.T.E Ride number to the back of student ID cards and create a program similar to AlcoholEdu that would serve the entire university in order to inform students about how to keep themselves safe on campus. These measures may be simple, but they can help improve student safety on a basic level he said.
"They already have AlcoholEdu, which no one listens to anyway," Sachs said. "We need to be honest with students and then we can start to reduce crime."
To address housing, Sachs said he wants to jump-start a pubic landlord rating system in order to better inform students as to what previous owners experienced while living in the area, something that is considerably more important as more students move off campus. While past SGA presidents have rallied to no avail for more on-campus beds, Sachs wants to highlight university's housing shortage if elected.
Some students question his ability to deliver on such a wide range of issues, but Sachs said he sees no need to narrow his focus.
"We have a lot of issues, so what?" he said. "These are all accomplishable goals."
Sachs' ten items, however, are a considerable jump from his opponents' far briefer platforms - the House Party has five and independent candidate Dan Leydorf has four.
Although he admits friends and family warn him about burning out, Sachs says he has so many items on his platform because he intends to see every one of them through. Even members of the College Democrats, which Sachs leads as president, say his dedication can get over-the-top.
"I heard he doesn't sleep," one College Democrat said to another at the group's meeting last night.
Platform aside, Sachs says the defining difference between him and his two competitors is experience.
Though Mardy Shualy of the House Party and Leydorf have been members of the SGA and RHA respectively, Sachs touts his involvement in the College Democrats as ideal preparation for the job of SGA president. Unlike his two competitors, Sachs' past involvement is entrenched in politics.
Although party politics are often divisive, Sachs is confident his affiliation won't be a problem because it is so widely known, especially after College Republicans President Christopher Banerjee endorsed Sachs in a letter to the editor in Monday's Diamondback. This, he said, is a testament to his ability to facilitate unity.
"I am the advocate I promise to be," he said. "We're really about unity."
Between his track record and new ideas, Sachs said he is confident he will leave the SGA in a better position than he found it. And if all goes according to plan, maybe he will even find time to sleep.
langdbk@gmail.com
The name of the College Republicans president has been corrected in this story.
The sophomore government and politics major has had a long-standing passion for politics, and according to his mother once carried around a pocket version of the Constitution in middle school.
Sachs, who is running on the Students Party ticket, said he will bring passion to his presidency, vowing to do "nothing else" for a year.
"This isn't a sound-bite," Sachs said. "This is real."
Running on the broadest platform of the three candidates, Sachs says he sees no problem with addressing a lot of issues whether it be amplifying the student voice, improving dining services, increasing safety, becoming greener or bettering students' academic experience.
As the name of his party implies, Sachs said bringing students back to the Student Government Association is a top priority.
"They've got the government part down, they've got the administration part down, but there are still no students," said Sachs. "That's what we're doing - mobilizing the part that's not there."
How? By doing business where students do theirs, he said - the bathroom.
The Students Party has covered bathroom stalls all over campus with yellow fliers called "Flush Notes", a campaign strategy that Sachs says he will carry over into his presidency.
"It's a great way to reach people. Lots of people think students are apathetic. I say no, they're just uninformed," he said.
Sachs also wants to add the N.I.T.E Ride number to the back of student ID cards and create a program similar to AlcoholEdu that would serve the entire university in order to inform students about how to keep themselves safe on campus. These measures may be simple, but they can help improve student safety on a basic level he said.
"They already have AlcoholEdu, which no one listens to anyway," Sachs said. "We need to be honest with students and then we can start to reduce crime."
To address housing, Sachs said he wants to jump-start a pubic landlord rating system in order to better inform students as to what previous owners experienced while living in the area, something that is considerably more important as more students move off campus. While past SGA presidents have rallied to no avail for more on-campus beds, Sachs wants to highlight university's housing shortage if elected.
Some students question his ability to deliver on such a wide range of issues, but Sachs said he sees no need to narrow his focus.
"We have a lot of issues, so what?" he said. "These are all accomplishable goals."
Sachs' ten items, however, are a considerable jump from his opponents' far briefer platforms - the House Party has five and independent candidate Dan Leydorf has four.
Although he admits friends and family warn him about burning out, Sachs says he has so many items on his platform because he intends to see every one of them through. Even members of the College Democrats, which Sachs leads as president, say his dedication can get over-the-top.
"I heard he doesn't sleep," one College Democrat said to another at the group's meeting last night.
Platform aside, Sachs says the defining difference between him and his two competitors is experience.
Though Mardy Shualy of the House Party and Leydorf have been members of the SGA and RHA respectively, Sachs touts his involvement in the College Democrats as ideal preparation for the job of SGA president. Unlike his two competitors, Sachs' past involvement is entrenched in politics.
Although party politics are often divisive, Sachs is confident his affiliation won't be a problem because it is so widely known, especially after College Republicans President Christopher Banerjee endorsed Sachs in a letter to the editor in Monday's Diamondback. This, he said, is a testament to his ability to facilitate unity.
"I am the advocate I promise to be," he said. "We're really about unity."
Between his track record and new ideas, Sachs said he is confident he will leave the SGA in a better position than he found it. And if all goes according to plan, maybe he will even find time to sleep.
langdbk@gmail.com
The name of the College Republicans president has been corrected in this story.
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mistake
posted 4/10/08 @ 9:47 AM EST
The president of College Republicans is Chris Bannerjee, not Brandon Payne. Good job yet again Diamondback.
Go STUDENTS PARTY and JONATHAN SACHS!
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