The Middlebury Campus

Issue date: 4/24/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Angela Evancie Bobby Joe Smith and Hiba Fakhoury will enter a run-off to become SGA president this week. [Click to enlarge]

Last week's Student Government Association (SGA) Presidential election has left the question of who will take Max Nardini's '08 place undecided. With the SGA having voted to withhold full election results, the only thing known about last Friday's vote is that Hiba Fakhoury '09 and Bobby Joe Smith '09 are now the only candidates left running.

Both candidates say they plan to campaign hard as they head into this final round of voting. To outline their plans for the SGA Presidency and their campaigns, both candidates sat down for interviews with The Middlebury Campus after their places in the run off election were announced.

Smith put a large focus on his experience on the SGA Senate and the way it has shaped his platform and the way he views getting things done in the SGA.

"Being in the Senate really helped me with my platform and it really helped me with finding out just what the responsibilities of being president are," said Smith. He went on to note that his Senate experience has taught him that even the most uncontroversial of proposals take a long time to get implemented. Keeping this in mind, Smith plans to begin organizing his initiatives before the end of this school year.

"I want to hit the ground before next year," said Smith.

Smith also stressed the importance of a strong group of leaders around him and says he is looking forward to putting together a strong cabinet for next year. Specifically, Smith said that he hopes to work with some of the other presidential candidates on many of the proposals they campaigned on.

"I would like Hiba on my cabinet," said Smith. "Hiba is a great leader."

Smith went on to say, however, that he feels Fakhoury's strong leadership skills are not balanced with a strong platform.

He ended his interview by listing communication and SGA presence, Africana Studies and a multi-purpose access card capable of serving laundry, debit, access, and copy functions in one card, as the three issues he most wishes to pursue throughout the year. He also listed safety concerns as an issue that he feels will become a growing concern to the Middlebury community, especially in the wake of the Nick Garaza disappearance.

Continued...

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