Power comes with responsibility, and the decision to run for ASUI president and vice president should not be made lightly.
During the ASUI open forum March 28, ASUI Presidential Policy Adviser Joe Black asked presidential and vice presidential candidates procedural questions about ASUI. When the Miller-Jasper and Goytowski-Lowe tickets demonstrated inadequate knowledge in their answers, Black corrected them on several issues including the process for how a bill passes through ASUI.
But Hannah Davis and Nick Tunison were not corrected, prompting an audience member to call Black “biased” in asking questions of the candidates.
The reason Davis and Tunison were not corrected during their forum answers is not because Black was biased, but because they provided educated and accurate responses.
It is one thing to develop a platform with grandiose ideas, but it is another to understand the functions of the university and ASUI that can make those ideas into reality. Knowledge of ASUI’s basic functions is information any person who thinks they can lead the organization should know by heart.
The candidates accusing Black of being biased need to realize they are not being targeted unfairly — they are being called out. Black asked questions any candidate should be able to answer and to say his corrections showed bias toward certain candidates is immature.
Black, a five-year member of ASUI, has served as a senator and lobbyist as well as his current executive position. Knowing the inner workings of ASUI is what qualified Black to ask candidates questions — the answers to which can be found on the ASUI website.
Black was also accused of giving the forum questions to Davis and Tunison in advance, a claim ASUI President Samantha Perez investigated and proved false.
Black said he intended to challenge the candidates, and he did. He asked what would seem to be basic questions, but apparently are not when two out of three candidate tickets stumbled over answers.
Being unprepared to answer questions during an open forum is no one’s fault but your own. Consider it an eye-opening experience as to what a year serving as ASUI president and vice president really entails.
–MM & EE