MSA potentials to file candidacy, anticipate races

While some students will be relaxing and enjoying the sun during spring break, aspiring campus politicians will be preparing their campaigns for the upcoming Michigan Student Assembly elections.

Although the final deadline to file for candidacy in the March 18th and 19th elections is not until Friday, prospective candidates and other students are buzzing about party affiliations, campaign strategies and candidate platforms.

LSA Rep. Trent Thompson, co-chair of the Student Regent Task Force, said his decision to run for MSA president was not easy, but he is excited about his upcoming presidential campaign. Thompson has not decided who will run on his slate for the vice president seat.

"It took me a while to decide how I was going to run," Thompson said. "It was something that I didn't really think I was going to do until last night."

Communications Chair Ryan Friedrichs, an LSA junior, also announced his intention to run for the presidential seat with LSA-SG Academic Affairs Committee Chair Albert Garcia as a runningmate.

Friedrichs and Garcia are running as independents in the election.

Friedrichs and Garcia said that running as independents will change students impression of MSA elections - that campaigning through a party is the only way to join the assembly.

Thompson is running with the Students' party.

"We're making MSA a better place. I think there's a definite need for parties," Thompson said.

"I personally have nothing against the party system," Garcia said. "But I've noticed that parties create a division within the assembly."

Garcia said their decision to run without a party stems from a desire to eliminate the divisions within the assembly caused by parties.

Garcia said that although parties have been beneficial for the assembly, they bring "an unhealthy atmosphere."

MSA is "wonderful to be a part of," Friedrichs said. "For the first time, the process is open to everyone on this campus. There's no exclusion. To be selected by a party is not the only route to MSA."

Thompson said if he is elected MSA president, he would encourage diversity awareness through increased interaction between student groups and MSA.

"What I want to get across is that we need more student group outreach with MSA," Thompson said. "I want to build relationships between different student groups. We can say we're diverse on paper, but we are not."

Thompson also said he wants to further educate students about the importance of having a student on the University Board of Regents. MSA is calling efforts to gain a student regent the Yes! Yes! Yes! campaign.

"I'm all for Yes! Yes! Yes! It's going to be my main push for the election - getting students so that they're aware of what they're voting for," Thompson said.

Friedrichs and Garcia said they will focus on increasing first-year student's awareness of campus organizations and providing more interaction between students and administrators.

Friedrichs said he is hopeful about the election.

"I was told that the last time an independent candidate won for MSA president was 20 years ago," Friedrichs said. "It's going to be tough, but I'm excited to give it a try."

LSA sophomore Sumeet Karnik, who MSA appointed to be on the Ann Arbor Tenant's Union last year, said he is excited about running for an LSA Representative seat.

"MSA has the ability to make a lot of things happen," Karnik said. "There's a lot of things that it can do. And I personally feel they could do a lot more."

02-25-98