Twelve days ago, we stood on the third floor of the McCormick Tribune Center among more than 100 students and counted down to midnight. As we looked around the room, we were inspired. The students in attendance, very few of whom had prior interaction with ASG, were there because they cared about Northwestern — and about making it better.

We love Northwestern. But complacency is the enemy to progress. We believe in earnest that we must graduate from a stronger University than we entered. Moreover, we possess the unapologetic idealism guiding our belief that students, as the University’s most important constituency, must play integrally in directing our campus trajectory.

Our campaign made a bold bet. As we examined past campaigns, we recognized that the dominant strategy was to generate endorsements from Northwestern’s “elite.” This felt wrong — you don’t have to be a club president or co-chair to matter to this campus and to want a voice in change.

The bet has paid off. We have generated more than 200 endorsements from a broad swath of students. Many have impressive titles, but the most important one is “Wildcat.”

Each of these students, along with our team of more than 150 volunteers and the nearly 500 students who responded to our survey, built our platform and our vision. We detail proposals that are feasible and actionable, and bold for the long-term. We will deliver results for students during our term in office, and we will lay the groundwork so that Northwestern moves forward far beyond our graduation.

The leadership experience we have gained both in and out of ASG ensures we can fulfill our promises. We have the unique advantage of ASG Executive experience under three administrations — and we have delivered real results to students. We also have led outside of ASG — founding Project Cookie, leading InNUvation, serving on Dance Marathon Exec and more. We know ASG inside — and out.

We know that real results come from data and big ideas with student support. We know that saying we need to “reevaluate” and “assess” problems is not enough. We need action plans. And we have them.

We are running for ASG president and vice president because we love Northwestern, and we believe it can be better. We urge you to visit our website, joindavidandjo.com, watch our videos, read our platform, and connect with our supporters. Engage with the issues — we value this process as much as your vote.

We hope our collaborative vision is one you believe in, and we hope we have earned your vote.

Go ‘Cats!

David Harris and Jo Lee,
Candidates for ASG president and executive vice president