Whether discussing Winter Quarter’s abbreviated two-day Reading Week, making improvements to CAESAR or assisting individual departments with establishing majors and minors, one body – the Associated Student Government academic committee – addresses academic concerns at Northwestern.

The candidates running for academic vice president in this week’s ASG election – Ebo Dawson-Andoh, Michael Fong and Debkumar Sarkar – all affirm that they want the academic committee to continue its focus of researching new academic options for students.

Each candidate offers distinct ideas on what he hopes to accomplish if elected as academic vice president.

Dawson-Andoh: Communication is the Key

Ebo Dawson-Andoh, currently an academic committee member, said he wants to serve as the “middle man” for students who have complaints about CAESAR, Reading Week or other academic issues.

“A lot of students don’t know how to voice their concerns,” he said. “I want to serve as the bridge that connects the gap between students and the administration.”

Believing CAESAR improvements to be one of the academic committee’s main priorities, Dawson-Andoh said he hopes to establish a permanent subcommittee to deal with specific CAESAR-related legislation

He said he also wants the academic committee to deal with more issues beyond Weinberg and proposes assigning specific committee members to work with NU’s five other schools.

“Many committee members are from Weinberg so those are the issues we have dealt with,” he said. “But I want to work to bring the issues of other schools to the table.”

In addition, Dawson-Andoh’s platform advocates continued lobbying by the academic committee for a stronger Hispanic studies program.

Finally, he offers a different approach to the Martin Luther King Day holiday by introducing a new plan that would end classes at noon and devote the afternoon to programming.

“A full day off is a nice idea, but compromise is needed,” he said.

Fong: A Business Approach

As director of a Chicago collectibles business at the age of 16, candidate Michael Fong says that he developed the “necessary skills” of business acumen and conflict mediation integral to building a successful relationship between NU students and administrators.

A senator from Kemper Hall, Fong declares that he wants to challenge students to take classes for merit – not for an easy grade. But Fong’s plan is sparse on details and a firm timeline.

According to his proposal, students who maintain a strong grade point average, perhaps a 3.5 or higher, would no longer have grades listed along with their classes on transcripts.

“Students here should be more than one-track,” he said. “With this policy, students can be more educated people with broader-based knowledge.”

Fong said he hopes to combat grade inflation with the proposal and to help NU’s pool of applications rise.

“We need to fight the crisis of grade inflation because grade point average doesn’t reflect who knows more information,” he said. “High school students will see that NU’s dedication to academic growth does not just revolve around grades.”

Fong also wants to establish undergraduate merit-based scholarships for 10 to 18 NU seniors each year as well as to give students academic credit for helping to recruit prospective NU students.

With regard to MLK Day, Fong advocates that students have the entire day off – with an extra day of classes added to the schedule at a later date.

“This would be a symbol that we really do care about what Dr. King stands for and we aren’t just trying for an extra holiday, ” he said.

Sarkar: Student-Centered

Debkumar Sarkar, a McCormick sophomore and member of ASG’s executive committee said he wants to give students greater access to resources on campus.

He proposes a feature on CAESAR that warns students who register for three classes with finals on the same day, reserving more copies of textbooks at Norris for lower prices and developing an academic committee Web page.

“It’s important that students have a voice in decisions that are made on campus and the academic committing is influential in effecting a lot of changes,” he said. “We need to take away student burdens and work for a more positive academic environment.”

Sarkar said he believes the textbook issue in particular is a major problem for students.

“It’s appalling to hear that some students choose what classes to take based on the textbooks they can afford,” he said. “Students should have the materials they need.”

He also supports giving students more academic resources on campus, including computer facilities.

“I’d like to work with the Residence Hall Association to add computers in a few dorms each year,” Sarkar said.

Like Dawson-Andoh, Sarkar is also interested in helping the committee continue working on the Hispanic and the Asian-American studies departments.

He also wants to change MLK Day by pushing for a full day off, following the model of Memorial Day.