Pipe Dream: The race for vice president for academic affairs was one of the most contentious this year. Are you planning on incorporating your two opponents into the office?
Matt Landau: I plan on incorporating all students into my office next year. Both of my opponents had valuable input on academic issues, and I would welcome and hope for further input from both of them, as well as from all students.
PD: While campaigning, you said that the VPAA office has been underused in the past. How are you planning on revitalizing the position and increasing its visibility among students?
ML: I plan on doing this through my community liaison program, as well as going to community council meetings. The community liaison program will enable me to keep in contact with all the community and hall AVPs as well as the DAs to talk about academic programming and discuss academic concerns.
PD: Your critics have suggested that an aggressive attitude towards the administration could be your downfall when it comes to negotiations. How would you respond?
ML: If there is an issue that the students and administration do not see eye-to-eye on, then yes, I think we need to be aggressive. In my opinion, being aggressive does not mean that it is inappropriate ‘ aggressive means fighting hard for the changes students want and need. By being aggressive with the administration, I have already made significant progress in having professors put their syllabus online and having final exam grades posted online. We have had too many AVPs in the past sit back and do nothing. Aggressive is what we need if we want to see progress with academic affairs, and that’s what I can give to each and every student
PD: In the first race, you, Boris Tadchiev, and Julia Fracassa were separated by eleven votes. Do you think this narrow margin and the run-off threatens your mandate when it comes time to representing the student body?
ML: No, I don’t. In last year’s presidential election the winner was decided by 35 votes. It has not hurt his mandate. I am still the one who is the prime representative to the student body when it comes to academic issues. However, because it was so close, I do feel it is important to hear from my opponents, and even more important to make sure I get the suggestions of as many Binghamton students as possible.
PD: It’s September. What are you devoting most of your time to?
ML: A main problem this year was there are administrative committees that have student seats, but no students are filling those seats. These seats need to be filled, and every committee needs to have a student representative on it. Otherwise, policy may very well change because their was nobody who was coming from a student perspective and giving their input. We, as students, can’t be blindsided by new [policies] after they happen. We need to know from the beginning, and we can’t do that without having full representation on every committee.
PD: What are your plans regarding this year’s Suicide Awareness Week?
ML: I think the Yellow Ribbon program is a great cause. Unfortunately, there are many great causes, and I do not feel it is appropriate for me to pick one over another. That is why student groups exist, to specialize in one area. While I support this effort, as well as many other efforts, I believe it is my responsibility to advocate for the academic needs of our students, which is what I plan to focus on throughout the year.
With regards to what will happen with the Yellow Ribbon drive, a new group, called the Yellow Ribbon Suicide Awareness and Prevention Group is being created, and trying to get their charter this semester and then they will be able to handle that entire week.
PD: The vice president for academic affairs has not yet had a budget. What kind of financial position will the office have next year?
ML: The office will have a budget of around $3,000 for next year. With that, more academic programming can be done, as well as other initiatives from the office.