SGA President-elect Carl Kasalek ran an excellent campaign that played into the fact the Pepperdine students value superficial, ridiculous issues.
By James Riswick
Editor in Chief
Congratulations Pepperdine, you dropped the ball. Last week, a majority of students chose not to take their student government seriously and voted for beach buses and staircases over serious issues.
Instead of voting for a candidate who vowed to truly represent the students in issues that actually mattered, students chose somebody who promised fluffy novelties that probably won’t be accomplished anyway because of budget and administration limitations.
Now, is Scott Withycombe my friend? Yes, he is. Is he a contributing writer, from time to time, for the Graphic? Yes. But do I think our president-elect Carl Kasalek is a bad guy? Certainly not. In fact, he’s done a pretty good job as Programming Board chair this semester. This is about what issues they presented to the student body and Kasalek’s commendable ability to appeal to Pepperdine’s insatiable lust for the superfluous.
The largest venue for both candidates to express their issues and campaign promises was last week’s Convocation where both Withycombe and Kasalek spoke. In it, Kasalek spoke first, spewing off the requisite student government candidate promises of “listening to students” and “doing what you want me to do.” I’ll just write that off since everyone says it and rightly give Kasalek the benefit of the doubt.
But what really irked me were the things he wanted to accomplish as SGA president. Some were useful, such as much-needed stairs from upper to lower Dorm Road and from Towers (which was going to get done anyway), while others ranged from novel-yet-impossible to just ridiculous.
Using our ID cards and meal points at local restaurants and Ralphs is a wonderful idea – too bad it was already thought of before and didn’t work. I was actually asked to serve on a committee for such a program in late 2001, but I never heard about it again after I agreed to join. Since Pepperdine has an agreement with Sodexho for exclusive food service rights, allowing students to flee in a mass exodus from the Caf to Howdy’s and Malibu Chicken just isn’t going to happen.
Kasalek also suggested a convenience store in Rho parking lot for students too lazy to either walk to the HAWC or drive to Ralphs. But honestly, are we really going to remove precious parking spots in Rho for a convenience store where students can pay overstuffed Pepperdine prices for snack food? Where will the money from this be used? Who is going to run it?
And finally, the pièce de resistance: Kasalek’s bodacious beach bus. For those students who don’t have a car or have trouble finding parking at the beach, SGA will buy a bus, students can paint fun things on it and off we go to Zuma in a happy Gidget-like romp. Riiiight. So how are we going to pay for this bus, and who will drive it? What happens to it for the four months or so when it’s too cold for the beach? And never mind the fact that if you don’t have a car, you’ll inevitably find someone who does to drive you.
Now, I have a strong feeling that Kasalek has more serious plans for his reign as SGA president, and that he knew exactly what he was doing by suggesting these ideas. Give him credit for recognizing the Pepperdine student majority’s obtuseness who value fluff over substance and campaigning with that in mind. He knew what it took to get elected.
I only hope Withycombe will run for the remaining senior senator position and continue to advocate a student bill of rights, the return of Safe Rides and a voluntary recycling program. Instead of a beach bus, I’d much rather have the peace of mind that Pepperdine and SGA is helping save the environment and protecting students from driving drunk. Not to mention prohibiting the right of Public Safety and Resident Advisors from opening up our rooms and rummaging through our belongings, thus encroaching upon our Fourth Amendment rights.
Although the majority of Pepperdine students should feel the same way, they apparently don’t. Kasalek ran an excellent campaign and played to the fact that students don’t care about real issues, but rather silly stuff like beach buses and convenience stores. So if that’s all we get next year, and especially if we don’t, don’t blame me, I voted for Withycombe.
Submitted March 25, 2004