Posted on April 5, 2007
Although there is only one name on the ballot for SGA president this year, the election is far from predetermined.
Junior Ilk Ghavami is waging a write-in campaign unprecedented in recent memory after narrowly missing being allowed on the ballot with incumbent Brandon Eickel because of poor communication within SGA.
His work has gained him recognition, and his vision and ideas should earn him JMU’s vote.
Ghavami has worked tirelessly over the last week to bring his campaign into the public eye. He represents the other side of life at JMU, the side where the university needs to draw its leaders from — outside SGA. He has never been in the organization and would be a true breath of fresh air in campus politics.
While Ghavami’s campaign points are not as neatly bulleted as Eickel’s, they are remarkably more inspiring. Whereas Eickel has a year of stagnation to his credit, Ghavami brings a qualified outsider’s perspective to the office. He favors the green movement, increasing security on campus, reworking freshman and transfer advising programs and a willingness to listen to the needs of others, rather than project his own agenda. This is the most marked difference; whereas Eickel’s campaign projects the gloss-and-no-substance of the typical candidate, Ghavami projects something dynamic and truly representative.
Eickel’s campaign lists specific goals that have largely already been judged impractical; his are impossible, illogical or are likely to occur regardless of who is president. Ghavami’s campaign instead focuses on ideas, with the expectation that he will find the best solution to the problem without relying on his own intellect or political machine.
His election would dovetail nicely with the re-election of Stacy Fuller, the current student representative to the Board of Visitors who represented the student voice after the board’s decision to cut multiple sports as a result of the Title IX declaration this year. While her platform from last year was derailed by this crisis early on, her leadership will continue to serve the best interest of JMU.
Both Fuller and Ghavami represent a true leader — effective, engaging and without the stench of Washington, or, in this case, the Highlands Room at Festival, around them.
Fuller is the only opposed candidate in this year’s election, running against Fred Rose for the non-SGA position of SRBOV.
The SGA should be ashamed that it could not muster another candidate to oppose Eickel, and this apathy on SGA’s part shows how deep the need for a change in leadership.
The lack of internal opposition to Eickel can only be a symptom of his unremarkable leadership reflected in the complacency of the SGA. Rather than being seen as a sign of unanimous support, which Eickel certainly does not have, it is a sign that the SGA has ceased to take itself seriously, a trait that reflects directly on its leadership.
Eickel has been the SGA president for the last year, and, according to the March 30, 2006 edition of The Breeze, he was elected based on three main points. First and foremost, he was committed to “increased and pleasing outdoor dining,” citing specifically the need for purple and gold umbrellas. His other two goals of increasing the Health Center summer hours and lobbying for more parking spaces have passed out of memory and are not even mentioned on his re-election Web site. His success was not apparent, save a smattering of picnic tables in front of Let’s Go. This year, his campaign is unremarkable and his appeal is dull compared to the energy of Ghavami.
A vote for Ghavami and against the status quo, with a vote for Stacy Fuller and a vote for the hope and promise that the Green Fund represents, should be every student’s vote today.
Alex Sirney is a senior SMAD and anthropology major.
