Published: March 25, 2015

While Senator Ted Cruz just announced his bid for the presidency early this week, and while everyone is waiting for former Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to do the same, election season has hit Fordham at Lincoln Center. With United Student Government (USG) elections on April 8 and 9, it’s an important time for students to think about who they want to have represent their interests in the coming year, a decision not to be taken lightly.

The USG Elections Committee has announced new policies, including a new policy that will allow campus clubs and organizations to endorse candidates for office, as per our coverage in the last issue of The Observer.

Though most newspapers, from the New York Times to the Columbia Daily Spectator endorse candidates for office, The Observer will abstain from endorsing any candidate. After dedicating an editorial board meeting to the subject, The Observer will choose to instead devote more time and manpower to covering the campaign trail, including everything from online video profiles of candidates to livestreaming the debate that will be held on April 8.

[quote_center]The Observer will abstain from endorsing any candidate.[/quote_center]

The story here is the campaign. By endorsing a candidate, The Observer would become part of the story and would not be able to accurately cover events and candidates running for office without the suggestion of a bias.

We applaud the USG Elections committee for allowing clubs on campus to endorse candidates, however. USG represents the interest of the student body, but also acts as a governing body for all clubs on campus: club policies are regulated and enforced by the Vice President of Operations; and clubs receive funding through the Student Activities Budget Committee (SABC), chaired by the USG Treasurer. Clubs as a whole should have a say in who represents them for this very reason.

By allowing clubs to have a say, the USG Elections Committee is not just allowing clubs to take a more active role but also encouraging every student on campus to get involved and vote, because we all have a stake in this.

Though the Observer is abstaining, we encourage every club to endorse a candidate – or at least have a conversation about endorsing a candidate.

Each candidate has new and exciting ideas that will change student life and club life at Fordham. No matter who wins the election, the infrastructure of Fordham will be altered–at this pivotal each Ram’s voice should be heard.