We sent every candidate for Union office in the upcoming winter elections a short questionnaire on relevant issues. Below the fold is the response from Aaron Mitchell Finegold, candidate for Senator for Ridgewood Quad.
1. What new or existing projects would you like to work on in the Senate?
I would like to work particularly on the events that the Senate plans or has a role in planning. A stickler for efficiency, I want to make sure that money, people’s time and other resources of physical capital are used in the best possible manner. As an experienced event planner, I want to make sure that Ridgewoodstock is reinstated to achieve its goal (enjoying the outdoors, fostering community, etc.)
2. What experience do you have that you think would help you be an effective Senator?
Again, I point to my event-planning experience first and foremost. I like to be a project manager and have learned how to delegate (although it’s hard when you want to do everything yourself). In addition, I have been involved in numerous student groups on campus before. I’ve been on the E-board of TRISK, I was the assistant director of Urinetown put on by Tymp, I was the chair of the Provost Student Undergraduate Committee and I was a CA. Through organizing the 2009 Winter Gala in support of hopeFound has taught me a lot about the chair of command and the ways the university works.
3. What issues do you find most pressing for your specific constituency?
My constituency needs to know that it will be represented, both as upperclassmen and as a residential quad. I want my constituents to know that I dedicated to making Ridgewood a center for social goings-on just like both the Mods and Ridgewood have been in the past.
4. One of the four pillars upon which Brandeis was founded is the commitment to social justice. How do you interpret this commitment, and what role does the Student Union Senate have in fulfilling it?
Social justice for me is huge. If there isn’t enough evidence of that in my commitment to understanding other cultures and helping a great non-profit in need, then maybe I can prove myself as a Senator. I want people to know that I think this university will be faced with some tough decisions in the days ahead, and that its troubles are not over. No matter what, I am going to be making sure that the commitment to social justice is not passed up for an opportunity for profit-making through enrollment.
5. What do you consider the most pressing issues facing Brandeis as a result of the budget deficits, and what role would you play as a Senator in working on them?
The most pressing issue, I believe, is admissions, since the only way for Brandeis to maintain its standing as a top 30 university is through the quality of its student body. Sacrificing intelligence, motivation and excellence for other values might cause a shift in Brandeis’ reputation and the pride that students and alumni feel in their alma mater.