When the polls open for the Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) elections today, the student body will have the choice of three candidates for president. While all three candidates have impressive résumés and plans for the future of BSG, the Orient endorses Danny Mejia-Cruz ’16. 

The president of BSG heads an organization that serves as a liaison between the student body and the College’s administration, a role that will be particularly important next year when President-elect Rose begins his tenure. BSG has a real opportunity to determine Rose’s relationship with the student body and help set the tone for his presidency. Each candidate expressed his discontent with aspects of BSG’s performance in previous years, citing that BSG has to work on reconnecting with the students it represents. This disunion has prevented BSG from achieving important goals, and we are eager to see it reversed next year. 

All three candidates highlighted their desire to address two of the most high-profile policy issues that have been discussed on campus over the past few years: pushing back the Credit/D/Fail deadline and lengthening Thanksgiving Break. The Orient editorial board has supported both efforts, as have recent BSG presidents, and yet they have fallen short every year. Mejia-Cruz’s willingness to apply constant pressure to the administration, as well as his intimate understanding of the work required to bring these initiatives to fruition, weighed heavily in our decision. In recent years, the faculty have nixed both an extended Thanksgiving Break proposal and a change to the Credit/D/Fail policy despite widespread support from students and members of the administration. Achieving these policy goals will require winning over skeptical professors, and we believe that Mejia-Cruz will be best able to mobilize students and aggressively lobby the faculty. 

Mejia-Cruz will be a tireless advocate for the student body. His willingness to engage both himself and BSG as a whole in important campus conversations will bring the student government out of the shadows. Additionally, his proposal to have a representative from the multicultural center on BSG highlights his recognition that BSG could benefit from including a voice that would speak specifically to issues of multiculturalism on campus. With three years of service in a variety of student government positions and various campus committees, Mejia-Cruz is familiar with both the institutions and individuals that shape the College and he knows what is required to maintain continuity with them in a transitional period. His platform includes a plan to acquaint President-elect Clayton Rose with the authentic student experience through forums and programming to be held throughout the fall semester. 

Mejia-Cruz’s opponents, Robo Tavel ’16 and Justin Pearson ’17, are also well qualified. Very rarely is the student body fortunate enough to have so many excellent candidates to choose from. All three would make outstanding BSG presidents, but we feel that Mejia-Cruz’s outspokenness and energy make him uniquely suited to help BSG overcome its inertia.

This editorial represents the majority view of the Bowdoin Orient’s editorial board, which is comprised of Garrett Casey, Ron Cervantes, Sam Chase, Matthew Gutschenritter, Nicole Wetsman and Kate Witteman.