The two candidates vying for the position of Associated Student Government academic vice president in Tuesday’s election have a tough goal: to convince students they can improve their academic lives.
In addition to leading ASG’s Academic Committee, the academic vice president is responsible for lobbying deans and other university administrators to improve academic options for undergraduates. Past vice presidents have worked to offer more options on CAESAR and improve programming for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Dan Broadwell and Prajwal Ciryam, both Weinberg freshmen, vow in their platforms to work with administrators to enact positive changes for students, including target P/N grading.
DAN BROADWELL
Broadwell, a Foster-Walker Complex senator, spent his first year on the Academic Committee and as a non-voting member of the Rules Committee.
Target P/N grading, free student tutoring, MLK Day, Weinberg distribution requirements and focusing entry level classes all were identified by Broadwell as the focal points of his campaign.
The School of Music, School of Education and Social Policy and the School of Communication already use a target P/N system. Creating a one for Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences will be a “slow process,” Broadwell said, but it would be worthwhile.
“By going through (Weinberg) we can influence the majority of the student body,” he said.
Broadwell borrows one point from current Academic Vice President Tamara Kagel’s 2002 platform: creating a free campuswide tutoring program subsidized by the Undergraduate Budget Priorities Committee for subjects such as chemistry and math.
ASG Rules Chairwoman Noreen Khalid praised Broadwell’s enthusiasm.
“He came in at a pivotal quarter and was able to learn a lot about how the organization works as a whole through the work we do Winter Quarter,” she said.
Andrew Proksel, one of Broadwell’s friends, also complimented his tenacity.
“When he takes something on, he puts the project first over any personal goals,” said Proksel, a Weinberg freshman. “When he says something he means it honestly. He doesn’t hide what his ambitions are.”
PRAJWAL CIRYAM
Ciryam worked this year on the Academic Committee but is not a senator. He said he did not want to wait until Public Affairs Residential College’s Spring Quarter election to participate.
Ciryam’s campaign revolves around several main points: target P/N grading, reforming curricula, updating CAESAR’s registration capabilities and helping students who take summer classes.
Ciryam said he aims to tackle target P/N grading for all NU schools. He does not want to leave the project “half finished,” so he is working with administrators and students to ensure that the project gets completed.
A major focal point of Ciryam’s platform is reforming the Spanish, South Asian and Middle Eastern studies curricula. He said those programs need improvement.
“Our education should be as complex as the subject, and the subject is more complex than simple history,” Ciryam said.
He said he recognizes that reconstructing the programs will require funding, which he hopes to raise from donors.
Ciryam said he would work to facilitate the return of NUtopia, a registration program that was available for students in the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences to use for four days.
Kagel, also an ASG presidential candidate, said she supports both candidates from her committee in their bids for office. She praised Ciryam’s innovation and work under her.
“I think Prajwal is full of new ideas,” she said. “He’s great at bringing new ideas to the committee.”
