Vote Berg

The General Studies Student Council's elections, which will be held on Thursday, April 17, have assumed special significance in the wake of former GSSC President Niko Cunningham's drama-filled impeachment and removal from office. The need for accountability has joined insufficient financial aid and inadequate housing options as a major challenge facing the council. Though each of the four candidates running for student body president brings unique strengths to the table, we believe that Brody Berg is best positioned to deliver what GS needs.

Cunningham was impeached by GSSC on April 8 amid charges that he had lied to the council, threatened its members, and violated its constitution. Cunningham's detractors blame his lack of diplomacy toward administrators for GS' small share of the University's new financial-aid package. Along with Nancy Saunders, the former vice president of policy who has since replaced Cunningham as president, Berg orchestrated two impeachment votes, the second of which succeeded. The impeachment involved questionable tactics, and the final vote was taken after a number of council members had already left the room. Nonetheless, in his language and in his actions, Berg has shown more than any other candidate the understanding that GSSC needs a radical turnaround. Berg has been effective in his current capacity as vice president of communications. He created the impressive GS student Web site, gslounge.com, which has become a forum for numerous student blogs. He also worked with Kate McNamara, BC '08 and vice president of communications for Barnard's Student Government Association, to create an equally impressive calendar of events. With his energetic personality and expressed desire to solve problems by drawing on the ingenuity of the student body, Brody offers a fresh approach to leadership for a council that needs a shake-up.

It will, however, take more than technological savvy and enthusiasm to secure better housing and financial aid for GS students. If elected, Brody should look to the other candidates for qualities that would better round out his candidacy. Keith Hightower, another candidate and currently vice president of finance, has displayed a stronger command of policy details and offered a plethora of suggestions for tackling GS' most intractable problems. Berg would be well advised to draw on Hightower's knowledge if he finds himself in charge. Though Virdis Bala and Ishmael Osekre, also candidates in the upcoming election, do not have the experience to be effective presidents, they exhibit the passion that goes hand-in-hand with great leadership. With his intense focus on process, Berg risks coming across as slightly disconnected from the student body, and he has the potential to alienate other council members. If he is to avoid the pitfalls that strained Cunningham's relationship with the council, Berg should emulate his opponents' sincerity and approachability. We hope Berg will live up to his assurances that he will solicit input from those around him, and that he will do so with the openness Cunningham so sorely lacked.

Whoever inherits the mantle of GSSC leadership in the fall will have to restore credibility to a council in desperate need of a strong president. Cunningham's leadership style compromised GSSC's ability to advocate on behalf of GS students in the critical spheres of financial aid and housing. It is telling that two of this year's candidates decided to run for the presidency because they saw personal friends drop out of GS for financial reasons. GS' alarming drop-out rate—considerably higher than those of the other three undergraduate colleges—is not worthy of this University, nor is the open secret that homeless GS students sometimes resort to living in Butler Library. A self-described technologist, Berg must not lose sight of the bread-and-butter problems that plague his peers.

Grace Chan recused herself from the writing of this editorial because she is running for an executive board position on the Activities Board at Columbia.