Editorial
Our Choice for Trustee
Email: 
Share: 
The position of student-elected trustee is an important one at this University. Voting begins today to determine the newest member of the board, and the candidate elected will be charged with a unique responsibility: to represent student interests in an environment populated largely by Cornell alumni.
Student-elected trustees have a powerful voice at Cornell. They are among the University’s top decision makers, privy to closed-door meetings and University politics that affect the entire Cornell community. They lend a student perspective to the Board of Trustees, an outlook that is rooted in the immediate and long-term needs of the student body.
Because of their great influence at Cornell, student-elected trustees must be in touch with the pulse of the University community. They must understand the campus they represent, and they must appreciate the issues and concerns of the students themselves. Most importantly, they must have a plan of action for the future, one that can hit the ground running on behalf of students’ best interests.
Cornellians are fortunate this year to have four qualified candidates vying for the post of student-elected trustee. We are fortunate to see real competition for a position so vital to the student interest, and to see candidates so committed to communicating the needs of students to the powers that be.
The Sun had the chance to interview all four candidates on the ballot this year for student-elected trustee, and each student brings something valuable to the table. Ultimately, though, one candidate in particular demonstrates an especially impressive commitment to the student body, a desire to effect real and necessary change for the Cornell community and a plan to make that desire a reality. That candidate is Shawn Kong.
Shawn came to us last week with an exhaustively-researched plan of action for the Board of Trustees. His plan focuses on three major issues currently affecting the Cornell community, the most prominent of which is financial aid. It would have been easy for Shawn to profess his commitment to financial aid in the abstract, but Shawn’s ideas are more than mere abstractions. He approaches voters with a concrete plan, one that is both encouraging in its goals and striking in its detail. He addresses the financial needs of students struggling to pay for a Cornell education, and he is the one candidate who demonstrates a capacity to enact real change. Shawn is not only passionate; he has also done his homework.
More important than Shawn’s broad financial analysis, though, is his level of commitment to students’ needs. Shawn cares about Cornell students. He wants them to have jobs after graduation. He wants them to be able to afford an Ivy League education. He wants only the best for the students at this University, and he has come up with a plan that he is determined to see succeed by the end of his term. In a field of qualified candidates, Shawn stands out for his dedication and ability to make a difference. He is an exceptional candidate, and we endorse him in his bid to become Cornell University’s next student-elected trustee.
how fortunate
how fortunate... the Sun has choose to endorse one of its fellow Sun columnists for Trustee! Wow, sweet job.
My impression from hearing all four candidates speak, answer questions, and interacting with several of them on campus is that Mike Walsh is clearly the most legit and reasonable candidate. Mike has achievable goals, realistic goals... and a presence that will not be ignored by the large trustee body.
Take a look at www.VoteMikeWalsh.com and see his impressive resume of student leadership at CU. Sorry Sun, but you made a mistake and endorsed one of your own.
conflict of interest?
Doesn't Shawn Kong write for the Sun? Is that not a conflict of interest for the Sun to endorse an election candidate that works for the Sun? strangeness.....
This is ridiculous. The fact
This is ridiculous. The fact that you would endorse a Sun columnist for trustee without even mentioning that he's a Sun columnist in your endorsement is completely bush league. Are you guys even pretending to be a real paper anymore?
This confidence is
This confidence is misplaced. The candidate you endorse here is well known at the GPSA and the UA for his perhaps well-meaning but ultimately enormous incompetence. He has bumbled every initiative and leadership role he has attempted to pursue, he has a fundamental misunderstanding of the issues and has absolutely no idea how to initiate change, to represent a population, or turn his ideas into action.
He has, however, learned how to talk big and make big promises, and to appropriate other people's ideas and work as his own without having to come through on any single issue.
For shame, Cornell Sun, for not doing your homework on this or the other candidates in this race.
You guys are so wrong
You guys are so wrong and I strongly suspect that you are Mike Walsh's friends. As his colleague in GPSA, I have seen he has done a lot to Cornell community. He is definitely most suitable candidate for the role as a student trustee.
GPSA's opinion
you say Shawn has done so much as part of GPSA... considering the importance of this role for all students, with particular emphasis upon graduate students... it would have been nice for the Sun to have some quotes from GPSA as to the GPSA impression of all four candidates. Unlike the Sun, I suspect the GPSA avoids endorsements because it does not want to show favoritism to any candidate who may be an active member of GPSA. But I can't help but wonder... would the GPSA echo or contradict what you claim are statements from people that are not familiar with Shawn?
He sounds like Barack Obama.
He sounds like Barack Obama.
on a more serious note,
on a more serious note, these comments have shown me that all of the candidates are full of shit and are not actually going to accomplish anything significant besides a great position for themselves, considering they have nothing better to do than masquarade as anonymous students who "study" the trustee election (yeah, how worthwhile).
therefore, i am not voting, and implore the rest of the campus to do likewise.
daily sun
not only does he write for the daily sun, but his columns are garbage. from what i gather, all this guy is interested in is improving cornell's ranking in us news so we can all brag to our friends about how we go to a top ten school.