The Woodford Review

Read an article this morning saying gas is going to be over $4 a gallon this summer. They say that is near the upper limit of what consumers will pay for fuel. Funny thing is that I think that article was written before another article I read, which was talking about how Iran just cut off oil exports to Great Britain and France. So maybe we won’t have to wait until summer to explore the upper limits of our ability or willingness to pay for oil. I don’t know much about economics, but I know a bit about people, and about myself, and that seems like a scary prospect. 

I was sitting at the bar the other night between two girls, one from Brooklyn, the other from the west side of Chicago. Both of them have seen urban life in a way I can’t even imagine. They have experienced fear and hate just about every day of their lives- and yet there they were, sharing their experience with me. We got to talking about how fear and hate close off people who allow themselves to be run by those emotions. How can you fully experience life if you shut out the things and people you don’t understand, or the things and people you’re afraid of? 

The more I think about it though, maybe that’s the point. 

The world outside is so unimaginably scary- especially from the perspective of someone who’s only ever read about being truly poor, or about violence, or about being really afraid. It’s not a revolutionary idea, but it’s becoming more apparent to me. Fear and hatred are merely coping mechanisms - ways to deal with the crushing reality of the outside world. 

Last night I was standing outside a fraternity house on the quad, and a guy (who was obviously very drunk) wearing the letters of a fraternity other than my own shouted at me. He asserted that my fraternity “sucks.” The expectation of the people gathered on the porch was that I would react in kind, perhaps asserting that in reality it was his fraternity that sucked. We live in a time when a calm and peaceful reaction (which was the route I went with) is somehow out of the ordinary. By remaining calm, and asking the people around me to remain calm, I did something that wasn’t strange to me, but it was unexpected to others. 

What do I accomplish by reacting to hatred with hatred? Would my assertion that his affiliation, race, creed, orientation, or any other identifying feature is somehow less acceptable than my own bring me to some kind of solace? I can’t really say because I didn’t do that. 

This is not to say that I have never said things in anger or hatred, or that I am somehow morally superior. What I do realize now is that in spite of the fear that this world, or situations that challenge our beliefs generate, we have the opportunity to take a different path. 

I don’t believe it’s foolish or unreasonably idealistic to stand by the idea that treating people with respect and dignity can be accomplished, and that it can yield incredible results. Just because the world outside is frightening, or unknown, or because fear and anger are the status quo does not mean that we are bound to those principles in our own dealings. 

So in closing, and in the sobriety that Sunday morning and two cups of (really good) coffee bring- Sig Ep does not suck, and $4 a gallon gas will not lead us all to ruin. Even if thinking and saying those things is just a coping mechanism too, I’ll take peace and optimism over hate and fear. 

It was a week ago tonight that I got word that I won the election. I had never really run for anything before, so it was a moment of great excitement. I had the help of amazing people, and the strong support of a very widely interested student population. All of that said, I’ve started to come down from the high of victory, and I’m taking a good look at what I’ll be inheriting.

I am excited about the opportunity to take a crack at this thing. We’re working on some big ideas- coming up with ways to push influence out of the upper levels of management, changing the way we think about representation on our campus, and trying to find ways to make the entire process accessible and engaging. We’re also working to advocate for the voice of students in the impending overhaul of our university website, pushing for more usability, and a model that more closely resembles the ways in which we engage with the Internet and Social Media. Beyond that, we’re already gearing up for the re-recognition and budgeting of our student organizations in the spring, and I can’t wait for some direct contact with the things my fellow Lawrentians are so invested in. 

I met with the Vice President Elect today, and after over an hour of conversation, we identified countless opportunities for improvement- as well as a need for more structure in our own conversations, namely a ridged agenda to keep us on track. I did not really know Nick Paulson before the election, but I can say after sitting down with him today that the potential for growth and improvement in the way LUCC conducts its business is limitless. Our greatest hinderance will be that we only have 30 weeks to get it all accomplished. The really exciting part is that we haven’t even gathered the thoughts and input of the rest of the council yet- a process that will yield even more ideas, criticisms, and opportunities.

I’m working as a member Student Welfare Committee to draft new legislation for smoking on campus. We have a chance as students to write the rules. If we don’t, administration will, and there is no telling what provisions will be a part of their decision. In a time when many campuses nationwide are going smoke-free, it is more than possible that Lawrence will join the rising tide, unless we as students act. 

Beyond all of this, I am excited to be doing what I am passionate about, and I hope that we can carry the energy and (overwhelming) support of the community into three terms of determined and focused efforts that emphasize our input as the students. I ran saying “It’s About US,” and I have no intentions of straying from that mantra. 

It’s Friday night and I’ve rambled enough. Have an excellent weekend!

It’s been an incredibly busy week, but one filled with support and excitement. It’s amazing I have any voice left at all. Wednesday night brought a public candidate’s forum, and an chance to speak to my fellow students about my ambitions for our student government. Some reacted well to what I was saying, but others seemed skeptical.

How can we possibly accomplish these ambitious goals of making our government more transparent and engaging?

The answer is simple: We treat people with respect and dignity, and encourage conversation. While the great temptation is to completely overhaul the constitution, it seems to me that the root of a lot of the problems identified in the forum the other night revolve around the way that we treat each other. A little cynicism is understandable in student government, but many of the current members of LUCC seem downright jaded- even to the point of doubting that we can do anything but serve as a piggy bank for our student organizations.

Call me idealistic, but I just don’t see it that way.

It’s true that I’m not experienced in THIS student government, but the great passion of my life has been and always will be leadership. My ultimate objective is to bring out the best in the people around me, and I believe that in the mire of paperwork, pageantry, and bureaucracy that is our student government, we have lost sight of that important point. We can no longer afford to be afraid of talking to one another, or afraid of proposing legislation that might not sit well with administration- if we don’t take back the reins of this thing, we risk losing it all together if our sole purpose is that of a group of accountants.

Shake your head and doubt this if you will, but I will not waiver. I believe in the power of people - and especially of Lawrentians - to shape this world. The beauty of government at this level is that we can readily change it if it’s not working for us. Why on earth would we keep doing things the way we have if they’re not meaningful? To preserve years of precedent? Precedent isn’t working for us anymore, and we need to reexamine the way we conduct our business.

Do we need constitutional changes? Perhaps, but that is a question I intend to address with my fellow students out in the open - not behind closed doors where so much has been decided in the past.

So it’s been a busy week, and there are plenty more to come, but I’m fueled by the passion I have for this, and I’m fueled by the passion my fellow Lawrentians have displayed this week. Let’s seize this this opportunity and this energy- I know we have what it takes.

I’m in the process of running for office in the student government at a small Liberal Arts school in Northeastern Wisconsin. While I say “Northeastern Wisconsin” like it’s some kind of exotic location to me, the truth is that I’ve lived here all my life. I was born in the hospital up the road, I went to elementary school a quarter mile away, church across the river, and I’ve tried to extract every bit of entertainment and enjoyment I can out of this place. While Appleton isn’t exactly the most interesting town in the world, it is home, and luckily, I feel especially at home at my school. Fortunately, most of my peers are from much more intriguing places, so we have plenty to talk about. 

While the impetus for creating this page was to give my friends at Lawrence a better look at who I am, what I’m thinking about, etc. as I work to convince them that I ought to represent them, I think it might be fun to imagine that someone will read this stuff, and maybe even enjoy it?

Also, I should explain why I’ve decided to call this “The Woodford Review.” I was on the newspaper staff in high school and that was the name of an opinion column I wrote for a couple of years. It was a good and formative experience for me, so here it is!