When Associated Student Government leads, are students willing to join us?

Many of the candidates in this year’s ASG presidential and executive vice presidential election are qualified to manage ASG. But, management is drastically different than leadership. Leaders must seek to inspire and empower. Leaders must seek to elevate those they work with, not to control them. No moment in history exemplifies this more perfectly than the story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  Dr. King’s legacy was his dream. Undoubtedly, if while standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, he had declared, “I have a plan,” things would have turned out a little bit differently.

Each set of candidates will tout their previous management experience (though undoubtedly they’ll call it “leadership”) — whether in ASG or another student group.  It’s not always easy to see past the hype and titles. It’s not always easy to determine whose rhetoric rings hollow or whose narrative is genuine. As students, it is our job to ask the difficult questions:

When ASG leads, are students inspired to join us?

Any candidate can make promises and tell you what you want to hear. Surely, any of the candidates could manage ASG. But where others can only promise to achieve progress for you, Ani Ajith and Alex Van Atta already have a proven track record of success. Ani and Alex are the one set of candidates in this year’s election that will truly lead, not only ASG but the entire student body. As a senator, when Ani’s constituents complained about the mail system, he worked for them and implemented a digitized system. As student life vice president, when students complained about the disgusting state of their residence halls, Alex worked with residential services to implement hundreds of thousands of dollars in improvements. These are just two of the many examples. And this is just the start.

Ani and Alex want to hear your story. In our experience, they have proven to be the two most compassionate and caring people at Northwestern. Over the past year, Ani and Alex have been a moral compass for our organization, always guiding us back to projects advocated for by students. They are a relentlessly inspiring pair. They care passionately about our school, and they care passionately about our Northwestern family. Moreover, they have the experience and perspective needed to translate your voice into tangible improvements for our school.

On Friday, vote Ani and Alex for ASG president and executive vice president. Stand up. Speak out. Express yourself. They will listen.

Sincerely,

Victor Shao               Brad Stewart
ASG President          ASG Executive Vice President