LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

VCU has the largest enrollment in school history, has

increased tuition by more than 10 percent in two years
and yet continues to say it’s not enough, that belts need
to be tightened, that sacrifices have to be made.

Fewer classes were offered this last spring in an exercise
in belt tightening, yet where was the tightening when the
new School of Business expansion went $10 million over
budget for VCU? Where was the SGA to question the
administration on this, to inform the student body, to
demand transparency and answers as to why that burden
will now have to be shouldered by the student body with
fewer classes and higher tuition rates?

With textbooks being an issue for students, one
should expect the SGA to take a more active role in
negotiations concerning the VCU bookstore contract. Yet
with the bookstore now about to change ownership, at
what point has the student body been approached as to
their thoughts? At what point has the SGA turned to the
student body to keep us informed on this process and
how it will impact us?

These are just a couple of the real issues that face the
student body of VCU. Yet at no time has our student
government fully lobbied for or properly informed the
student body on what these decisions mean to us.

The SGA is supposed to speak and lobby on behalf
of the students of VCU. (SGA members) work for us.
They use our activity fee to pay for their salaries and
senate retreats. They oversee the funding of student
organizations.

When is the last time you felt like the SGA really
listened to you? When is the last time you felt like the
SGA really mattered? It’s time for real solutions to the
real problems that face VCU.

Not the same talk we’ve heard the last three years, not
the same unresponsive leadership we’ve had for the last
three years, not the same failed promises and flowery
talk that has rendered the SGA ineffective in representing
the students.

It’s time to stop imagining. It’s time to get real.

Real actions only count if they create real change.

This March 25 through 27, we ask that you vote
for a ticket that will fight for what matters to you and
VCU. Not for football teams or a fitness program or
greater collective social consciousness but for a school
that completely addresses the needs of its students. A
ticket that will fight to provide a well-rounded, safe and
affordable campus that we can all be proud of. A ticket
that will fight to make student government relevant to
the entire student body and the administration.

A ticket that will fight to create real change that creates
real results.

The Latimer-Aida-Ronk ticket is that ticket for Real
Change for VCU.

Sincerely,
Steven Latimer
Gonzalo Aida

Editor’s Note: This letter to the editor was supposed
to be printed in our March 20 issue, but because of a
mistake, was not. To make up for this, The CT is publishing this letter in addition to a more recent letter by SGA presidential candidate Stephen Latimer. Although The CT reserves the right to edit or to not publish letters,it also is dedicated to providing an open forum for its students and strives to be objective in its publication of letters to the editor, especially those that relate time-sensitive content.

—

On positive change:

Deep down inside, you really care about VCU. You
really want to see VCU move in positive directions. I
agree with you. It is time for VCU to move forward. It
is time for positive change. The Students for Positive
Change leadership team believes that much can be
done to improve our university and increase school
spirit. The SGA has powerful tools, ample funds and
many dedicated workers. With your vote and our
strong, capable leadership, we will release the vast
reservoir of energy and ideas that you possess. We
will direct that energy to create positive change like
VCU has never seen.

What do we mean by positive change?

First and foremost, we mean more financial aid.
Many VCU students are financially strapped. We
want everyone to feel that help is available when
help is needed, that they’re not alone. But what can
be done?

If VCU had a larger endowment fund, it could offer
financial aid to all students from lower-income families.
That’s where football comes in. Someday, football will
boost school spirit, bring alums back in droves and
generate larger endowments. Don’t take my word. Ask
Virginia Tech or the University of Virginia.

If the sale of new and used textbooks were more
competitive and more transparent, book prices would
come down. No student should have to drop a class
because they can’t afford the text!

If the life of each meal plan were extended to one
year, students wouldn’t lose the value of unused meals
at the end of each semester.

If bike-parking availability were increased, many
students would find transportation to be less expensive
and less aggravating.

That’s positive change!

Second, we mean more academic assistance. Many
students are unaware of the vast array of support services
available-from counseling to the writing center to
health services. Library hours should be expanded
throughout the academic year. More students means
greater library access is needed. Also, some honorsprogram
services should be available to any students
with a 3.0 GPA. Mentoring services particularly need
to be expanded significantly to help all deserving
students. That’s positive change!

Third, we mean a greater focus on aesthetics. We
have the nation’s finest artistic and musical talent. They
can teach us all to see and hear. We should have a
Museum of Fine Art and Sculpture Garden on campus
to exhibit their work for our pleasure and education.
Our campus should be the most beautiful in Virginia!
We can make that happen! That’s positive change!

Fourth, we mean a better social environment.
Fraternities, sororities and residence halls should play
a more important role in campus social and political
life. School spirit would get a shot in the arm and we
would benefit with less-expensive, on-campus events.
That’s positive change!

Some might think these ideas are too ambitious or
even na’ve. Someday these ideas will become reality.
Someday, we will begin-and begin we will! We will
move forward. We will progress. Give us your voices!
Give us your vote! Speak and the university will listen.
The power for positive change is in your hands on
March 25, 26 and 27. Let your voice be heard! A
year from now, you won’t believe what together we
have done. You will see the outlines of the VCU of
tomorrow and you will feel proud. This is your time!
This is your VCU! Actions count! Act! Vote!

Jibran Muhammad

Candidate for SGA president
Students for Positive Change

—

Dear Editor,

I do not know who would be the better candidates.
I do not know who is right and who is wrong. What I
do know is that the candidates who think they know
everything are the ones who know nothing. The best
candidates are the ones who are willing to learn and
to adapt to students requests and needs.

What my colleagues and I intend to do is listen to
you, the students. We want to hear what you have
to say, but – unlike our predecessors – we actually
will act upon your requests. We want to incorporate
all students in student government. After all, we are
serving you, the student, not ourselves.

That being said, I speak to you now not as a
candidate, but as a student. And, as a student, I ask
you this: Please vote next week. Whether your vote
supports us or it supports our rivals, I ask that you
at least vote. By doing so, you take the future into
your hands. By doing so, you choose who will lead
you into the future.

I do not know who would be the better candidates.
I do not know who is right and who is wrong. That
choice is for you to decide and the only way to do so
is to vote March 25 through March 27.

Joshua Ronk

Latimer-Aida-Ronk for Executive Branch, www.
realchangevcu.com

—

If the “struggling, yearning, hoping,” students who
are driven out of college by expensive textbook prices
could hope and yearn their way to Amazon.com, their
dreams of self-financed education could continue. I
haven’t bought books from a campus bookstore in
years. I don’t know many people that do. The bookstore
is the last place a person should shop if they are on
a financial seesaw.

Unless you have an obsessive-compulsive need to
own a textbook in mint condition, Amazon.com almost
always has books that are 50 percent to 75 percent
cheaper than bookstore prices. I bought all six books
I needed this semester for $100.

I’m pretty sure the library has Internet access if
you don’t, and most banks are willing to issue you
a “student” credit card, even if your parent’s aren’t. I
suppose you could get a part-time job, but that might
be crazy talk.

Stick it to the man by shopping at Amazon.com
and using common sense.

Respectfully,

Josh Price

—

Dear Fellow Students:

At last Wednesday’s SGA presidential debate, my
opponent revealed that he has no desire to reform the
SGA. We now have this on record. Even though my
opposition has no plans to lead the SGA in a meaningful
direction, or to make the SGA more responsive
to student needs, he bills his campaign as “Positive
Change.” There are more than a few problems with
this-namely, that he offers no change.

His platform is very similar to the platform offered by
previous executive teams. These previous administrations
didn’t accomplish much, to say the least. Doing
the same thing that doesn’t work and then calling it
“change” is not a change. Real change requires real
change, and I am the only candidate running for SGA
President who seems to understand this.

In conclusion, it makes sense that if something hasn’t
been working; you probably need to do something
different. Vote Steven Latimer for SGA President
Tuesday through Thursday and join me in rejecting
business-as-usual gimmicks.

Respectfully,

Steven Latimer

—

The Latimer-Aida-Ronk ticket for the VCU SGA
has many great plans for our university and deserves
serious consideration when you go to vote on March
25-27. The last SGA reduced spending on clubs and
organizations but ended the year with a surplus of
funds. The L-A-R ticket promises to increase spending
for all clubs and organizations and to assign funds
based on the number of students interested in a
particular organization by surveying students. The
future transparency of the student government appeals
to me, as well, in that the student body president
will hold monthly meetings asking for student input
and allowing the student body to hold the president
accountable for his actions in office.

These candidates show they are unselfish as well
and are really trying to better the surrounding city by
donating all of their wages over minimum wage to
the Richmond Food Bank. They look to support the
college and Aramark’s increasing the minimum wage
of their employees to a living wage, since much of the
city’s population lives below the poverty line.

The candidates focus on what I believe will be good
for VCU is why I am choosing Latimer-Aida-Ronk for
SGA. I suggest that you, too, look into the issues at
hand in the upcoming election and choose a ticket that
will keep our school and the surrounding community
strong.

Chelsea Robbins

—

This past Wednesday, the students of VCU had an
opportunity to see the two tickets for the SGA executive
branch debate and present starkly different visions for
the future of VCU-one of imagination and another
of reality.

Jibran Muhammad has asked you to “imagine” for
weeks now. “Imagine” things that they cannot deliver.
“Imagine” a platform whose very foundation – a football
team – they themselves admit might never happen.
“Imagine” a platform dependent upon
endowments without any indication
as to how these endowments will
happen: It’ll be like magic.

During the debate, Muhammad
admitted that he had no idea how
student government worked and, quite
frankly, he didn’t care. He wasn’t being
elected to reform the SGA, he said. Yet
a properly running SGA is essential if
even the bare minimum of issues is to
be addressed and effectively enacted
on behalf of the student body.

Instead of explaining where his
platform might be based in reality,
Muhammad attacked the concerns of
senators who have spent years trying
to reform the SGA Senate into a more
effective body that can push legislation
that impacts our day-to-day life. He
dismissed concerns of an ineffective
and inept executive branch that has
done nothing but hinder real progress
on real issues. He even said outright
that the SGA couldn’t advocate on
your behalf for lower tuition, that that
was not its job.

My friends, this is not leadership.
This is cheerleading. This is boosting.
And this is not real change to improve
the security, academics, affordability
and standard of living of the student
body of VCU.

Steven Latimer has led that charge
for real change. For two years he has
advocated on behalf of the student
body through the SGA Senate. From
saving the Student Escort Service from
being shut down to honoring our
veterans, Latimer has fought for you
and me. Real issues, real change-all
dismissed by Jibran Muhammad.
Ladies and gentlemen, we do not
need another year of an administration
that does not truly advocate for
the student body. We do not need
another year of an executive branch
that dismisses the concerns of the
senate, the body that is supposed to
directly represent you and I. We do not
need another year of an administration
that does not speak with the very
student organizations that impact our
day-to-day lives.

VCU needs leadership that understands
that change can only happen
if we have a strong executive branch
that is willing to fight for the issues
that truly matter to each and every
one of us.

When faced with increasing tuition,
we need leadership that will demand
transparency and accountability from
the administration. Jibran Muhammad
says that is not his job. Steven Latimer
knows it is his.

When faced with a student body
wanting to know where their activity
fee is going and how it is appropriated,
we need leadership that will demand
transparency and accountability from
appropriations. Jibran Muhammad
says that is not his job. Steven Latimer
knows it is his.

When faced with a student body
that feels the student government
is unresponsive to their needs, we
need leadership that will demand
real change on real issues that show
the students of VCU that there is an
advocate for them that will fight to
make this school a safe, affordable,
academically challenging university
that we all want to be a part of. Jibran
Muhammad says this is not his job.
Steven Latimer knows it is his.

Steven Latimer, Gonzalo Aida
and Joshua Ronk represent each and
every one of us. They represent a
ticket that understands how the SGA
works and how it needs to change.
They understand what it takes to
truly effect real change on a level that
impacts each and every one of us on
a real level.

Imagining a better university will
not make it happen. A better university
can only come about with real change
through real leadership. Please join me
in voting for that real leadership this
Tuesday, March 25, through Thursday,
March 27 at www.vcusga.com
and vote for the Latimer-Aida-Ronk
ticket: Real Change For VCU.

Jason Kenney