This year's Student Association presidential debate provided a forum for the candidates to answer questions posed both by the Thresher and by audience members. After hearing the candidates' responses to questions on topics ranging from communication to constitutional amendments, the Thresher believes McMurtry College junior Trent Navran articulated the strongest vision for SA presidential leadership.
During the debates, Navran emphasized the importance of empowering students to become advocates for change. Combined with his clear knowledge of issues that students find important such as on-campus housing, employing more faculty and building a new student center, Navran sparked confidence in his ability to serve students' needs from the presidential seat. Though Lovett College junior Min Ji Kim showed a great amount of passion for engaging with students and implementing a new anonymous comment feature on the SA website, she failed to articulate clear and relevant answers to the more substantive questions asked during the debate. In addition, Navran showed humility when he admitted a lack of knowledge of the proposed constitutional amendments while Kim dismissed them as minor changes and inconsequential to the student body.
The Thresher would also like to note that the joke candidate, Martel College senior Denis Leahy, raised important points about student advocacy at Rice and the role of the SA. Whoever assumes the role of SA president should make it a goal to reaffirm the SA's position as an advocate for the student body's concerns instead of merely as a mediator between the students and the administration.
Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Thresher editorial staff. All other opinion pieces represent solely the opinion of the piece's author.
