We stand for Stand Columbia

As election week draws closer, the Editorial Board has decided to endorse Stand Columbia for next year’s Columbia College Student Council Executive Board. We have reached this decision after meetings with each party, much thought, and still more deliberation. To be sure, the decision was not an easy one—but we believe that this endorsement is the right one for Columbia College and its students for the next academic year.

This is not to say that there wasn’t plenty to praise in the other parties. ReNew CU’s energy was infectious, and its group dynamic spoke to a real passion for revitalizing the role of the CCSC Executive Board. The Naked Party presented thought-out and specific ideas as well as means of implementing them. Their anger with the administration’s failures seemed genuine, and their energy real. And when we say that Stand Columbia would do well to look at and adopt components from both of these campaigns next year, we do so with complete sincerity.

But ultimately, we feel that Stand Columbia should be the party that’s doing the implementing. It was the only party that simultaneously seemed to recognize the scope of its power and the reality of what and how things can be accomplished at Columbia. They posted on their website a list of 20 things that they want to achieve, and we believe that, yes, the items on that list can be actualized by the people who constructed it. They’ve been working on gender-neutral housing, and we believe they’ll see it through. They have the experience in working with the administration to move forward on the academic calendar issue. Their finance policy showed an immense appreciation for the ways in which club funding—specifically, tech fees and the P-Card pilot program—works. The team is policy-focused and experienced, and has demonstrated an appreciation of how to work both with the administration and against the status quo. The team presented a concrete vision, and we believe that it is best situated to make it a reality.

However, this endorsement is not without caveat. Presidential candidate Learned Foote would do well to pass on his knowledge and experience to the rest of the team, who would do equally well to follow his example. More significantly, this party, if elected, needs to work actively to keep its energy alive throughout the course of its year in office. It is not enough to know the ins and outs of policy—students need to feel like that policy is being implemented consistently for their benefit. In explaining their name, Stand Columbia spoke to the history of Columbia College. Now, we call on them to actively and enthusiastically Stand for Columbia and its students.