For vice president internal, the Guardian endorses One candidate Shana Thakur. As the current senate chair, Thakur not only has A.S. Council experience but also has experience running meetings, which is one of the vice president internal’s primary jobs. She currently chairs meetings of 20 senators.

We see Thakur as someone who will listen to student concerns and actively fight for these issues. She has not only been a Marshall senator for two years, but has also served on the A.S. Women’s Commission and in the A.S. Outreach Program.

One of Thakur’s main goals is to make A.S. councilmembers work more actively with each other. She also wants the council to interact more with student organizations and A.S. affiliates such as the Co-ops, Volunteer Connection, the A.S. Internship Office and A.S.-sponsored media.

If elected, Thakur said she will change the current A.S. Parking Committee that meets on its own to one that meets directly with Parking and Transportation Services Director Greg Snee. We believe that if Snee is willing to meet with students, Thakur’s approach will lead students to a greater understanding of the problem and may possibly lead to some solutions.

In addition, we admire Thakur for taking the unpopular stance that the A.S. Council should stop handing out schedules of classes and blue books to students for free. While most students probably appreciate the giveaways, the $5,000 can be better spent on funding events, especially since schedules of classes are available online.

What impressed us about Thakur in her interview was her attitude toward this year’s A.S. Council. She said that members often rush through meetings for the sake of getting out early, and that if she were in charge of meetings, she would like to see the council stay until 11 p.m. if necessary to get business done correctly. Our A.S. councilmembers are there to serve the students, and we applaud Thakur for her attitude.

Thakur’s opponent, Unity candidate Jenn Brown, is also qualified for the job. She has experience on A.S. Council, and supports greater interaction between councilmembers and student organizations and also greater communication among members of A.S. Council. She also supports dialogue with Snee to solve parking problems. Her goals are well-outlined and include fighting for diversity, campus safety and increased athletic support.

In the end, Thakur received our endorsement primarily because we believe she is the candidate more likely to stand up for students rights and interests rather than those of the admiistration. She has actively done so in the past, and we trust her to continue to do so in the future.