Student Council
President: Neal Fox may be an outsider, but he has the potential to turn Council on its head. Every organization needs to be shaken up once in a while, and Fox has the ideas to put Council on a much-needed new trajectory. This year Council’s initiatives were bogged down because they remained central to Council, such as the University Unity Project. Fox’s opponents will not substantially change the direction of Council, whereas Fox plans to decentralize Council and make it an umbrella organization that works with individual CIOs to accomplish more specific goals. While Fox must be careful to adequately plan new initiatives to work with the reality of Council, he is the only candidate with the potential to radically change Council for the better.
Vice President for Organizations: Brendan Whittington has the experience necessary to be an effective VPO. His plans are well thought out and feasible to implement from day one. While both candidates are well qualified, his knowledge of the currently operating system and plans for reform place him ahead of his opponent. His ideas include incentives for CIOs to independently fundraise, and MarketplaceUVA, an inter-CIO lending project that is an intelligent idea but must be carefully implemented. These measures will help CIOs handle budget cuts in the coming year, and that makes Whittington the best choice for VPO.
Vice President for Administration: Nikhil Panda is running unopposed, but has innovative ideas that the Board supports. Panda will work to co-sponsor Council recruitment with the Minority Rights coalition to bring Council closer to truly representing the student body. He is well qualified and will nicely fill the role of VPA.
College of Arts and Sciences Representatives for the University Judiciary Committee
Pev Ahdout has done an excellent job during her first term on UJC and will continue to raise the standard for her peers during a second term. She is aware of the possibility for double jeopardy between UJC and the Inter-Fraternity Council Judiciary Committee and will work to establish a clearer relationship between the two. Ahdout is also concerned about enhancing UJC’s transparency and increasing the organization’s accountability. Ahdout has the experience and professionalism to do an outstanding job during her second year on UJC.
William Bane has a clear vision for UJC in the coming year. He is willing to work to improve the First Year Liason Program and education about UJC, both of which are vitally important to making UJC relevant to the student body. Bane also wants to make the trial process more efficient and expedient and to eliminate disparities between sanctions. His plans will improve UJC now and in the future.
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