Robbins, Kim and Parell to Lead StuCo
Uppers Matthew Robbins and Hojoon Kim were elected last Tuesday to serve Student Council (StuCo) as president and vice-president, respectively. 484 students casted their ballots in the election, yielding a 44.6 percent voter turnout rate as compared to last year’s slightly higher 50.6 percent turnout rate. Lower Jackson Parell was elected last week to the executive board as secretary of student council.
As president, Robbins hopes to reform the structure of StuCo itself to create a more democratic student government. He says he will cap the number of select members in order to promote efficiency and will ensure that those voting in StuCo actually hold voting rights to guarantee the integrity of StuCo’s decisions. He also plans to allow the student body to force a referendum on any matter if more than half the student body signs a petition, in order to increase the voice that students have in policy matters. In addition, he wants to create 11 new positions in StuCo, that would be elected by the entire student body, who would preside over policy matters and hold greater voting power in policy votes. Robbins said that at the end of his first term of presidency he will hold a vote to determine whether or not he holds the confidence of the council. If the council expresses a lack of confidence, a new presidential election would be held.
“This is the first election where people ran around grabbing endorsements and had a team of staff to work and put stuff up for them.”
Outside of these internal reforms, Robbins plans to address sexual assault, mental health, the advising system and Post Instructional Evaluations (PIEs). On the topic of sexual assault, he proposes enacting an awareness campaign and delaying punishment until an investigation is completed when a student leaves a dangerous situation while getting illegal visitations. To address student wellness, Robbins will create a committee to work with the health center to provide feedback and concerns from students. Concerning the advising system, he plans on creating an anonymous feedback system between students and advisers. Robbins would like to repeal PIEs in favor of a more holistic evaluation process.
Kim ran on a platform stating that he would do all in his power to support whatever changes the new president would enact. Looking to next year, Robbins, Kim and Parell were all excited and were eager to enact change. Addressing the student body, Robbins said, “I want to say to the student body that change is coming, Student Council will be reformed and your voice will become amplified as we go through the next year.” Kim conveyed that he would take measures to assist Robbins in his plans. “My goal will be to put as many things as humanly possible on the table that the president and the student body want addressed,” he said. Parell expressed a similar desire to enact reform. “We understand that there is a lot of change that must be made in our community, and we will try our best to see it through,” he said.
Many students were not surprised by the results of the election. Senior Michael Shao noted that the results reflected voters’ growing dissatisfaction with the current StuCo and the need for a “candidate who would bring the most fundamental change to campus. It does not really matter to me whether or not it turns out well, change in of itself was necessary to a StuCo that had gone stale,” he said.
For students who desired reform throughout council, Robbins certainly stood out as a candidate promising change. Prep Taylor Robertson expressed his excitement for the anticipated changes in StuCo.
“There will be a total overhaul to StuCo. The councilors that Matt promised will be elected next year and there will be a lot of changes to the structure of StuCo itself,” he said.
Upper Yannick Yao echoed this desire for change, stating that he voted for Robbins because, in addition to him being his roommate, “I want to see more changes happen to StuCo to improve its efficiency and legitimacy.” Voters were also drawn to Robbins’ “charisma and eloquence when speaking,” two qualities that prep Jimmy Liu listed as part of the basis for his decision in the election. Similarly, postgraduate Mathias Valenta described Robbins as “an extremely intelligent and well-spoken political figure,” while senior Daniel Stone articulated his belief that Robbins “has always been principled and his platform was superior.”
Some students expressed dismay at the lack of female representation within the council’s executive board. No female candidates progressed from the preliminary election, leaving voters with only male options for the final presidential and vice-presidential election. Upper Emily Robb, who ran in the preliminary presidential election, said that she is “still not pleased that there is no female representation.”
In many ways, this year’s election stood out compared to past elections. Shao, a member of Robbin’s campaign team which nicknamed itself the “war room,” noted that out of the four student council elections he has witnessed while at Exeter, this was the first one in which active campaigning occurred. “As a member of Matthew Robbins’ ‘war room,’ this is the first election where people ran around grabbing endorsements and had a team of staff to work and put stuff up for them,” he said, adding that “it clearly paid off for Matt.”
Valenta, another contributor to the Robbins campaign, viewed this election as a “rise of the anti-establishment.” He noted the parallels between student council’s election and the national political scene, and expressed excitement at the rise of the “anti-establishment. The fact that populism through figures such as Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders and our new president are gaining so much, well, popular recognition and patriotic support is really great,” he said.
Shao also saw a shift in the electoral culture on campus. He noted that the stereotypical candidates of years past were “popular, attractive, well known and liked, [running] on boring campaign hooks like making d-hall food better and improving mental health.”
In comparison, he felt that the results of this year’s election showed a move away from such candidates. “Given the election results, I think you can see a silent frustration of many students who just don’t care about those stereotypical candidates anymore,” he said.