Sagebrush Proves Ignorance

I don’t intend this to be an indictment of Carmen, but an assault on the editorial integrity and quality of the Sagebrush endorsement column. I would ask students to consider what they actually learned from this poorly executed rhetorical exercise.

The Sagebrush has once again proved it doesn't seem to give a shit about reality. With their endorsement of Carmen Gilbert, the Sagebrush editorial staff seems to have created their own reality. I'm not saying I disagree with their endorsement, nor do I agree -- I'm still undecided -- but several things stand out as interesting?

The staff sites communication issues as the primary reason for endorsing Carmen Gilbert. Where in her platform, or Eli's for that matter, is improving communication between the branches discussed? I'll save you some time, it's not. However, both candidates have expressed concerns during debates on improving communication between the branches.

"she’s shown her leadership by holding others accountable for their actions throughout the years"

Again, what is the substance that precipitated this statement? Was it her involvement with the impeachment hearings concerning President Ragsdale?

“The students will need a leader who won’t succumb to administrative pressure. They need a representative to speak for them to the university’s administration, the Board of Regents and the Nevada Legislature.”

Thanks for quoting her platform for us. As journalists, did it occur to you to inquire as to how she might accomplish this? Because this is already what ASUN kind of does, and did successfully this year and last without her.

This editorial, in its lack of depth and ignorance of reality, does nothing to educate students and detracts from a legitimate analytical comparison of the two candidates and their platforms. More disappointing and ill-informed coverage of ASUN, but it’s close enough for the news media I suppose.

Drop the "N" Word

Allegedly, Mr. Reilly had the "N" word on his MySpace page. As it turns out, BSO isn't so happy about that one. Brilliant, really.

Follow-up
This post was meant to show the sentiments expressed by some members of BSO who have been stating that they saw it on his page. Mark Felt is a fucking idiot.

Results

President
Matt Fries-15
Carmen Gilbert- 580
Adam Hunt-101
Eli Reilly-517
Justin Shane-206

Vice President
Michael Cabrera-395
Gabriel Matute-376
Ian McMenemy-295
Jeremiah Todd-330

Let the disappointment begin

Polls are open. Vote today and/or tomorrow at Getchell and/or the JCSU. Nobody will know the difference.

I'm voting for this guy...

Eli v Carmen (Accomplishments and Student Gov. Experience)

Entirety of Student Government Experience for Carmen Gilbert and Eli Reilly

When discussing the accomplishments of Eli Reilly and Carmen Gilbert, Eli wins handily. Eli has been an extremely successful Director of Programming, taking former Vice President for Programming Lauren Obrien’s accomplishments and growing them as well as managing a team that has deployed several new, great programs. Carmen has been a good voice at the table, but her legislative and out of office accomplishments (where ASUN is concerned) are almost non-existent. However, she did have a good run as Vice President of Programming in the Residence Hall Association (RHA).

Eli Reilly’s career in student government has been in the executive branch exclusively. He held the position of Public Relations Director for RHA his freshman year. The position was elected and he showed great initiative in pursuing it. He took a mediocre and undefined position and made it his own, refining the responsibilities and duties. His performance and interaction with others was juvenile at times, but this was an arena for him to grow and mature in, and he did. This is also where he started working for Lauren Obrien (who’s unique management style you can sometimes see emerging in Eli).*

He continued the following year as the Travel and Recreation Chair for Flipside programming under Vice President for Programming Lauren Obrien. In this position Eli planned and executed two fantastically successful events, which whetted his appetite for success.

After that, Eli won the VP for Programming seat and came into this year where he saw his job transformed into that of a Director, immediately subordinate to Sarah Ragsdale (the mediocre). We’ve covered his accomplishments in this position quite a bit, so I won’t bore you.

Carmen Gilbert’s career started the same year in the same place as Eli Reilly’s. She was a member of the General Council (GC) of RHA (same as the Senate of ASUN kind of). She also held a position in the executive council of Manzanita. Her interaction in the GC wasn’t something to write home about, but neither was what the GC did, so no harm no foul. Manzanita had a stellar year as far as programming goes, engaging residents continually and across a broad spectrum of events.

The next year Carmen became the Vice President of Programming of RHA. In this position she took what had succeeded the previous year and did it better and did it more. However, she didn’t bring a whole lot new to the position.

Coming into this year, Carmen campaigned for a College of Liberal Arts (COLA) Senate seat and won. She won a committee chairmanship, but hasn’t done much beyond that. She does speak up at the table, but doesn’t present legislation or new ideas.

What does all this crap mean?

Eli shows a lot of initiative and has never not succeeded at what he has attempted to do. He has extensive experience working in an “executive” environment, but has no legislative experience. He has in fact been pretty much insulated from the legislative branch for all three years. He doesn’t have a good track record of working well with them he has though (maybe that’s just Sean McDonald’s fault though). He has a year on Carmen in working with the entire campus as an executive.

Carmen has always worked very well in successful teams, but when in a leadership position doesn’t seem to innovate as much as Eli. She doesn’t like legislative “crap” as much as executive “crap” but does have a better understanding of how it works than Eli, which may help foster a good relationship between the two branches.

Conclusion

Another very hard choice, but on experience and accomplishment I have to give it to Eli. He has a proven track record, but he better be aware he needs to work with (not work against like Ragsdale or ignore like Champagne) to make his presidency an extraordinary success. Carmen doesn’t lose by much, but I fear that she might not bring as many new ideas as Eli and she lacks the experience of working with administration and other campus groups – in the context of ASUN politics and programs – that Eli has.

* - Lauren Obrien school of management: I don’t like you and I don’t like what you’re doing and I’m in a bad mood so I’m going to pout and treat you like shit. Maybe you’ll be lucky tomorrow and I’ll like you.

Gilbert v Reilly (Communication)

We haven't done a whole lot on this blog about what people should watch out for in a Carmen Gilbert presidency and we've done quite a bit of analysis on why Eli wouldn't be quite as good as Carmen. There will be a series of pieces attempting to compare the two level by level, issue by issue. We start with communication.

The biggest discussion of these two has surrounded communication and leadership styles. Some praise has fallen on Carmen and a lot of criticism has befallen Eli. This isn't without cause. Carmen, while a less aggressive than Eli, has shown herself to be a confidant, powerful speaker in the past month. At the same time Eli hasn't tempered his forceful communication style. An important question is this: which style is going to be best for president?

The answer isn’t clear. Eli made an interesting comment in the primary debate. He stated that he knows he has a particular style, but those that don’t have a problem with work very well with him. He furthered it by saying that when he gets along with those he’s working with, eh does really great things. And his experience and accomplishments tend to back this statement up.

At first this appears to be a “duh, really” statement, but let’s take it a little deeper. Is Eli saying he isn’t going to change his style and plans on surrounding himself with only people who get along with him? Or, is he saying that he understands there is an issue and plans to work on it but he also knows why he is succeeding and plans to exploit it.

The statement is a little ambiguous, but I would lean towards the second option. Having witnessed Eli during most of his experience in ASUN and RHA I’ve seen him grow and mature. He hates failing and is going to do what he needs to do to succeed. He is smart enough to know he needs people with diverse ideas around him to change the way things are done. That doesn’t mean it won’t be hard to get people who think he is “fake” or a “frat boy” to work for him, but if he can bring people together, he has shown a propensity to do very well.

Carmen is hands down, perceived to be a better communicator than Eli. People naturally like her, but at the same time, does she have the force of will to stand up to Sandy and Shannon Ellis? I don’t have an answer because I haven’t seen her in that context. I have worked with her in the past and was never incredibly impressed with her volume and command of a group. But she could have changed, and many suggest her composure during campaigning is indicative of that.

Eli versus Carmen. She is liked by almost all but is sometimes quiet and doesn’t have the experience Eli does with dealing with administration. Eli is liked by some and disliked by some but has proven himself able and willing to stand up to Sandy and Shannon, among others. He says what is on his mind and fights for it. This isn’t as black and white of an issue as many have suggested. There is a real choice to make in communication styles. You lose and gain very valuable things with both of the candidates.