Spring Break
Student Senate presidential election race is on, candidates share platforms
Joshua Aromin
Issue date: 2/6/09 Section: Campus
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Maxwell Adepoju and David Bedard are the two candidates running for Student Senate president, joined by their vice-presidential candidates Amanda Clarke and Vidhi Shah, respectively.
All four candidates have held active positions on Student Senate. Each candidate is a junior, except for Clarke who is a sophomore. Adepoju is the current culture affairs chair, Bedard the vice president, Clarke the student organization advisory review chair, and Shah the treasurer.
As the hopeful future leaders of Student Senate, both tickets will face many challenges on campus, but feel confident in their qualifications to lead URI.
"[The student body needs] someone who can be the voice of the students. Bedard said "Most of the time students' rights are overlooked."
His running mate Shah is focused on the candidates' experience.
"We are two of the most experienced people on senate. We're very motivated. We really want to do better for the university and we're really interested in the students - what they have to say and what they want," said Shah.
Bedard and Shah's platform is highly based on continuing the work of current president Tom Ahrens. If elected, they will maintain the current project of renovating Ellery Pond and continuing the Student Senate lawsuit with the town of Narragansett against the orange sticker.
"I just want to make sure that every student has the same opportunity to do everything they want to do while at URI," Bedard said.
Adepoju and Clarke do not have such a primary focus, but said they think they should help wherever and whenever they can.
"I feel like if you go into specifics, you could come up with something that might not happen," Clarke said. "Senate is dynamic in that every year you get new senators, a new executive board, new leaders and from that comes innovation [and] ideas."
"We feel like any area that is weak or that needs help, we definitely want to be there to help structure or at least build a foundation for it," said Adepoju.
For the candidates, the most significant topic on their minds is dealing with the Unruly Gathering Ordinance in Narragansett.
The Unruly Gathering Ordinance, also known as the Orange Sticker Policy, which was first enacted in 2007, has resulted in the Senate filing a lawsuit against the town of Narragansett. Efforts toward fighting the ordinance will be continued even after Ahrens's term is over.
Bedard, as the current vice president, said he thinks he is best suited to continue the lawsuit.
Both tickets will continue to oppose the policy and hold it as a main priority if elected. "[They town of Narragansett] is really trying to pigeonhole the students to make sure that they don't do anything," Adepoju said.
Listed as an expert regarding the case and currently living in Narragansett, Clarke will have a direct role in the Orange Sticker Policy, possibly testifying in court.
Shah and Clarke are eager to take an active leadership role as vice president if elected. "I believe that a good leader needs to be able to relate to the members in committees and kind of help them along, especially newer members," said Shah.
Clarke agreed, saying vice presidents should be more involved. "[Former vice presidents] moderate meetings and take attendance and that's not the only thing I want to contribute to the school, so that's why I stress the fact that Max and I are going to be a team."
"We're just students, not like some overarching government. We just are peers," Clarke said.
