SGA needs honest officer
COMMENTARY
By Liddy Serio

While the larger voter turnout this year is an improvement from TCU’s previously apathetic SGA elections, it has been accompanied by a presidential race that brings back recollections of the 2000 U.S. presidential elections and Florida recounts, “hanging chads” and seemingly endless deliberation.

The displays from the presidential candidates this year have been alarmingly similar to those of actual politicians. This similarity is in no way a compliment to TCU’s presidential candidates; rather, it is a sign of how they have fallen to using illegal measures to achieve their goals.

The tenacity with which the candidates campaigned was at first an encouraging sign of their dedication, though it now seems as if they put winning above all else. From the numerous campaign violations and complaints which have been filed recently, it seems that there is little these candidates will not do to ensure a victory. I have to wonder, will the winning candidate have this same aggressiveness and motivation once he is actually in office?

The selfish and ruthless displays from the candidates have shattered my faith in their ability to lead the student body in a successful and competent manner — how are we to trust them to put the university’s interests ahead of their own during their actual term when they are apparently unable to do so right now?

The point is this: The ability of the president will lie not in his or her fabulous ideas or sensational promises (as a matter of fact, many of the ideas the candidates proposed were given to them by other people). Rather, the success of whoever wins will be determined by character and integrity, for these qualities will show themselves strong after the election and throughout their term in office.

Would improved parking, food, communications, school spirit and unity make this university a better place for all of us? Undoubtedly so. However, what would help even more than these improvements would be an upgrade in the character of the candidates.

There will very likely be a runoff between two candidates, and I encourage you to elect the person with the best morals and character. Because after all of the hoopla has quieted, after all the posters have been taken down, after the debates and publicity have ceased, there will be only one thing remaining: the person himself. Though the outlook may seem bleak in regard to each person, we must sift through the doubt and suspicion surrounding this election and elect the best candidate. Base your votes on character, only character and nothing but character, and the best man will win.

Liddy Serio is a sophomore political science and broadcast journalism major from Colleyville.