Hey everyone, there is an election happening.

No, not just the municipal stuff happening outside our bubble, but an election to decide which of our students will be advocating for us and spending our A&S fees.

This Tuesday we were able to see candidates John Aloszka and Lee Tomlins debate their platforms. The debate was… fine.

The thing is, there wasn’t much of a debate. There wasn’t even much reason to have anyone else on the stage, Aloszka dominated the stage with sheer knowledge and depth of platform. Tomlins, despite having served as Chief Justice, had no grasp on what he intended to do as the leader of the executive branch. In most of his responses he gave, it felt like he had a “I will figure it out when I get there” type of mentality whereas Aloszka had a full platform that detailed exactly what his objectives are and where he stood.

This being said, I do not find either of them to be exceptionally presidential.

One of my favorite T.V. shows is The West Wing, and there is a specific moment where they discuss the concept of the Presidential Voice (season 6, episode 15). This is the concept that your presence and voice alone are able to move people, to motivate them to do better and to mobilize them to support you. Neither candidate did this in the debate.

What it takes to be a President isn’t just good ideas or a winning smile, it takes a raw sense of leadership. It takes people who are willing to listen to what you have to say, and stand behind you when you go to execute it. It takes building a coalition that wants to see you succeed and a base of support that you know you can rally. I don’t see how either candidate has built this kind of energy outside of whatever clique they may have already mustered.

All the same, the only party who seems to be campaigning is the Forward Party. They have an online presence that is missing from the Frontier Party (the Pink Party doesn’t have a Presidential candidate).

Neither person seems to really have the Presidential vibes that Genta or Beaucham did, but it does seem clear that only one really cares about winning the seat.

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