Without any ado whatsoever, here are Pipe Dream’s endorsements for the 2007 Student Association elections.

President: Dave Belsky

Though we definitely thought he should have tried a new campaign slogan this time around (rhymes aren’t always best), Dave Belsky’s experience and ability to think for the long term make him the better choice for president. Serving as the executive vice president for the past two years has given Belsky the chance to lay the groundwork for several projects and another year on the SA e-board will give him the time to finish them. Belsky’s critics may claim he hasn’t accomplished enough in his two years, but Rome wasn’t built in a day. Belsky’s projects and vision for the SA will be around for years to come.

While we think David Bass definitely has a lot of passion and is obviously has the best interests of the student body in mind, his plans seem more suitable for the office he currently holds, vice president for Multicultural Affairs, or for the executive vice president’s office. Though we think Belsky will make a more effective president, we’d still love to see Bass involved in campus politics and continuing the work he’s begun this year with student groups.

Executive Vice President: Joe Danko

Though he’s running unopposed and therefore doesn’t really need us to say anything nice about him, we’re going to go out on a limb here and tell you that we think Joe Danko is a good choice for EVP. (Disclosure: Danko is dating our assistant news editor.) Danko seems to be an all-around favorite within the SA, which can be an important key to actually turning his plans into successes. His view that all members of student groups, not just the presidents and treasurers, are equally important, is a step in the right direction and could go a long way in mending the often strained relations between the SA and the student groups. If Danko lives up to his promise to work for the students and builds upon the projects and ideas established by the EVP’s office in the past few years, we don’t see him running into any problems.

Vice President for Academic Affairs: Matt Landau

This, our closest decision, came down to Landau’s passion for the position and seemingly genuine desire to help the students that won him our endorsement. We loved his idea to put course syllabuses online prior to registration, and thought his head was definitely in the right place with his desires to work toward cheaper book prices and to make grades more accessible to students. We’re glad he’s willing to fight for us against the administration ‘ but we also want to caution Landau that fighting isn’t always the best approach, which is why we nearly chose Julia Fracassa. It takes communication, diplomacy, negotiation and the formation of respectful mutual relationships with the administration for a student leader to accomplish anything at BU. We think Landau’s take-charge attitude could do a lot to revive a dead office, but we hope if he’s elected, he’ll figure out the importance of diplomacy.

Vice President of Finance: Chris Powell

Another tough decision, this endorsement came down to experience and the ability to fulfill the job’s description. Powell’s experience serving under two prior VPFs and his financial knowledge suit him for the position, and we see him as a candidate who will always do the job well and in a timely manner. Though Alice Liou is undoubtedly the more friendly of the two candidates, and probably the better at working with students, the VPF’s main responsibility is managing the $2 million budget according to the already mandated rules (and completing mountains of paperwork). We have no doubt Powell will be more than adept at these tasks.

However, the main problem we foresee is the VPF’s office becoming a political tool for personal alliances and politics. Powell obviously has some very strong views, many of which cause us to cringe (anyone can read them in The Binghamton Review, the publication he is currently the editor of), and we would hate to see those views in any way affect his responsibilities as VPF. Luckily, the SA is set up in such a way that his power can be kept in check, and we recommend that if he is elected, future Association members keep this in mind. We also think Liou should stay on as a head assistant and continue to fulfill her plans to aid student groups through the often complicated financial processes. Powell will need a few warm and cuddly personalities in his office to deal with the students.

Vice President for University Programming: Sandra Dube

Running unopposed, Sandra Dube will obviously be retaining her current position, and we think having a two-term VPUP has some definite benefits. The most difficult part of the VPUP’s job is learning the ins and outs of the business ‘ things like how to effectively place bids and manage a budget that seems to be in perpetual deficit. With a year of experience, Dube won’t have to waste any time learning how to handle the position. We think she’s done a fairly good job so far, but in her second year we want to see her surpass her current accomplishments and really impress us. Not many VPUPs get the chance to have a second term ‘ we hope Dube proves she deserved it.

Vice President for Multicultural Affairs: Rabeel Patoli

Patoli gets our endorsement completely by default (seeing as no one else wants the job). Although the position is often called useless, and at times has even had its very existence questioned, a successful VPMA should be a charismatic leader with plenty of ideas on how to foster student involvement and combat apathy. Patoli, unfortunately, didn’t seem to have many plans beyond continuing the programs started this year by David Bass. We’re not saying Bass has done a bad job, but there’s always room for improvement, and Patoli should be planning how he will surpass Bass, not just replicate him. We’re glad he wants to continue hosting cultural programs, but he needs to find some fresh ways to get the students involved or they might as well use his future office as a TV room for that nice new flat screen the SA picked up.

Referendum question: Do you wish to encourage the Student Association to support a BU chapter of NYPIRG at a level of $5 per student per semester? YES!

Basically, this referendum question is asking if you are willing to pay $10 a year of your student activity fee to support the New York Public Interest Research Group. The answer is a resounding ‘yes.’ NYPIRG is an organization that works completely for you, the students, and does nothing but good at BU. Its projects include voter-registration drives; workshops on consumer rights, tenants’ rights and credit-card safety (to name a few); lobbying against tuition hikes; and aiding student groups in projects. Odds are you’ve been influenced positively by NYPIRG in your time here, whether you know it or not.

To give you the full story, NYPIRG at Binghamton was cut last year from $100,000 (where it had been for the previous six years) to $80,000 per year by the SA, and this year there is an additional proposed cut of almost $20,000. We’ll do the math for you: that’s a 40 percent budget cut over two years. Voting yes and giving them $10 a year will save their budget and save the work they do ‘ as long as the SA listens to the students. The referendum is only a suggestion, but we’ll take this opportunity to remind everyone that choosing to ignore the results of a referendum is ignoring the wishes of the students, your constituents, and will certainly be noticed ‘ especially by us.