Ben ran for senate freshman year because he wanted to make a difference and he felt that he represented the average student at Tufts, not the fringe minority groups that dominate our school, that take their causes and launch them onto every student as if they are issues of life or death. There is a time and a place for groups like that, but it is not at the center of our student body's voice. It is time that we restored our campus voice to that of the majority of our students and not just those who yell the loudest and make the most threats. I think we all started off wanting to make change at some point in our lives. The big difference is that I know Ben still has that will to make changes where others have fallen complacent in preserving the status quo.
With respect to yesterday's editorial endorsing Tomas, the fact that Tomas has done something as a Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senator is commendable, but if we elect Tomas to be the TCU president, then the senate will just continue playing musical chairs with itself, shuffling someone who could not achieve real success as the chair of a TCU Senate committee meant to get students more involved into the presidency.
What we need from this election is not to elect another president who will continue the tradition of the current senate, but to elect a president who will stand up for the students, who will not just go with the flow, who is not part of the system that has already failed us. Ben is not afraid to challenge the system and he has not spent his time at Tufts getting stuck in a rut. He is ready and able to face accomplish the changes we need.
I'm Jacob Schiller, and I'm voting for Ben Richards, and so should Tufts.
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