2008 Woodie Awards
Editorial: Feinberg makes right call, Ahrens will face challenges
Issue date: 3/13/08 Section: Editorial/Opinion
03/13/08 - University of Rhode Island Student Senate presidential candidate Josh Feinberg made a wise decision yesterday to drop his appeal of his disqualification.
The muted end to a dizzying two weeks of charges of violating election rules, student senators failing to adhere to procedure and candidates sparring in public, threatened irreversible harm to the senate.
Indeed, the Senate Chambers last week looked more like the scene of a divided and corrupt public legislature than a student senate working to represent 11,500 undergraduate students. Senators seemed destined to fall into an endless bloodbath over mundane rules and personal feelings. Feinberg's decision opens the door for the senate to move on.
At the same time we can understand the disappointment that Feinberg must feel after winning the popular vote and knowing he'll never lead the student body. And the whole scenario will have a nasty side effect of casting a shadow over Tom Ahrens' administration.
A minority president, Ahrens will operate without a popular mandate and lead a senate still bitterly divided between the Feinberg and Ahrens camps.
The silver lining of the whole disaster is an opportunity for the senate to prove it can move on. With politics behind it, senate can return to issues that appeared so important just a few weeks ago.
We hope Ahrens will continue the senate's role in ensuring a well-lit campus and keep alive a discussion about Narragansett's "Unruly Gatherings" ordinance. Ahrens will also need to design a new agenda and spur apathetic senators into action.
We saw during the past two weeks that senators do, contrary to popular belief, have passion - assuming the topic involves one of their friends. Ahrens will need to harness this passion by connecting the senate agenda to senators personally.
We also hope Ahrens makes good on his promise to release the senate meeting's agenda on Monday, as opposed to several hours before the Wednesday meeting. The simple act will prepare senators for the meeting and allow general students an opportunity to know what the senate is discussing.
Perhaps he'll even find the heart to bring Feinberg into his cabinet as an olive branch to Feinberg supporters. The pair showed passion during the race and together helped draw one of the largest voter turnouts in recent years.
The duo could prove an unstoppable pair if they - and the senate - can bridge the divide.
The muted end to a dizzying two weeks of charges of violating election rules, student senators failing to adhere to procedure and candidates sparring in public, threatened irreversible harm to the senate.
Indeed, the Senate Chambers last week looked more like the scene of a divided and corrupt public legislature than a student senate working to represent 11,500 undergraduate students. Senators seemed destined to fall into an endless bloodbath over mundane rules and personal feelings. Feinberg's decision opens the door for the senate to move on.
At the same time we can understand the disappointment that Feinberg must feel after winning the popular vote and knowing he'll never lead the student body. And the whole scenario will have a nasty side effect of casting a shadow over Tom Ahrens' administration.
A minority president, Ahrens will operate without a popular mandate and lead a senate still bitterly divided between the Feinberg and Ahrens camps.
The silver lining of the whole disaster is an opportunity for the senate to prove it can move on. With politics behind it, senate can return to issues that appeared so important just a few weeks ago.
We hope Ahrens will continue the senate's role in ensuring a well-lit campus and keep alive a discussion about Narragansett's "Unruly Gatherings" ordinance. Ahrens will also need to design a new agenda and spur apathetic senators into action.
We saw during the past two weeks that senators do, contrary to popular belief, have passion - assuming the topic involves one of their friends. Ahrens will need to harness this passion by connecting the senate agenda to senators personally.
We also hope Ahrens makes good on his promise to release the senate meeting's agenda on Monday, as opposed to several hours before the Wednesday meeting. The simple act will prepare senators for the meeting and allow general students an opportunity to know what the senate is discussing.
Perhaps he'll even find the heart to bring Feinberg into his cabinet as an olive branch to Feinberg supporters. The pair showed passion during the race and together helped draw one of the largest voter turnouts in recent years.
The duo could prove an unstoppable pair if they - and the senate - can bridge the divide.