Opinion: SOS the most realistic Senate Option

After a year of tension between bickering parties in Student Senate, the 2015 election brings a host of new tickets and candidates ready to make a change. While certain tickets offer great ideas, only the SOS ticket has the true ability and desire to lead students in the right direction.SOS, led by presidential candidate Gabby Bacha, brings Senate experience and a platform that has the realistic ability to make a difference. All three of the tickets’ executive members have Senate experience, both in the general body and with SAC. It is the only ticket to reach out to my student organization, College Republicans, to hear what we would like to see from Senate. The SOS senators are willing to work with the administration and create realistic objectives.SOS is the only ticket with a solid platform — actual goals and specific ideas. The members do not promote abstract ideas like “better transparency;” they have real solutions to student problems. For example, to serve students, the ticket is aiming to bring back a large spring concert and create textbook scholarships. To ensure Senate accountability, the ticket has proposed an amendment allowing students to recall senators. In fact, Bacha worked earlier this year on a petition that would have allowed students to recall senators, even putting her own position at risk. Someone willing to sacrifice her own position for the sake of students’ opinions speaks volumes about Bacha’s character and her dedication to this university.The positive assets SOS brings to the table surpass any other ticket, making them the obvious choice in this year’s election. Phoenix, while its senators are approachable and personable, lacks Senate experience and solid ideas. Their platform is primarily ideological and does not present tangible goals. Student Nation has an admirable bipartisan theme and only consists of executive members. Unfortunately, the ticket’s only goal is to go to the Ohio Statehouse to fight for lower tuition, which is frankly unrealistic. Not to mention, the ticket’s presidential candidate pronounces Governor Kasich’s name “Kay-sich,” so I doubt any professional conversation between the two would go very well.BARE, the most subpar ticket, is too closely connected to Ohio’s Student Union and does not adequately represent students as a whole. Its candidates have a record of forcing their political ideologies on the rest of the student body. The presidential nominee stands behind current president Megan Marzec’s Blood Bucket Challenge, which ostracized Jewish and Pro-Israel students. He did nothing to stop his fellow senators from laughing at me when I voiced my concerns at a February Senate meeting. The ticket boasts its openness to students and making everyone’s voice heard yet literally laughs in the face of differing views.While the other three tickets do not fit students’ needs, SOS brings the realistic ideas and approachable demeanor Student Senate needs. They have clear goals to improve students’ academic experience and do not let personal politics get in the way. When voting this Tuesday through Thursday, remember who has the potential to be real leaders around campus.