The Progressive Alliance is an association of student groups consisting of Rainbow Alliance, College Democrats, College Feminists, SEED, NCDC, and Peace Project.

Mike McGee/Tommy Smithburg for President/Vice President

Progressive Alliance’s decision was difficult this year, as the two strongest tickets were running on very similar platforms. While both candidates possess an enormous amount of experience and capability, we feel that the Mike and Tommy platform represents a more encompassing approach to Student Government. Mike’s extensive experience within ASG combined with Tommy’s fresh perspective presents a united and balanced force. We recognize the qualifications of Bill, and the enormous amount of work that Pat has put into both his passions and student government; however, overall, the Mike and Tommy ticket is aligned with our priorities to a better extent.

As the students’ chief lobbyists to the administration, we expect that Mike and Tommy will make progressive issues a priority in their administration. In particular, we commend their commitment to diversity and civic engagement among students. We felt Mike’s completion of the undergraduate research Web site speaks to his ability to initiate and complete projects that are useful to the student body. We also feel that Tommy’s experience with alcohol reform this year will make him best able to enact these important changes in the upcoming year. However, we would like to see more focus on gender identity issues, as ASG will be an important ally as our member groups help Gender Protection Initiative lobby the administration for gender-neutral housing. We noticed that some of Mike’s ideas are tech-oriented; this is consistent with his past experience. However, we would like to ask him to focus on more tangible, physical projects in addition to his tech interests.

We would also like to address Bill and Pat’s ticket, which we felt was strong, but not as strong as Mike and Tommy’s platform. We thought that Bill’s focus on results was admirable, as well as warranted. Bill will get things done if in office; he has already done so as Vice President of ASG. However, we questioned why he hasn’t already tackled some of the progressive issues he outlined. Additionally, we felt his “top-down” approach was problematic for groups that are based in grassroots organizing and organic community growth. We acknowledged that his vice president, Pat, would balance some of these concerns out. Pat Dawson has shown commendable commitment to progressive groups on campus, and we have no doubt that he would represent the interests of Progressive Alliance well. In particular, we felt that Pat’s address of student group funding concerns and his proposed solutions, were much needed and very viable. We would be very interested in seeing these changes enacted in the future ASG administration.

Ultimately, Progressive Alliance voiced a majority consensus on an endorsement of Mike and Tommy, as we felt they were fellow travelers in progressive circles, and unanimous support of Pat Dawson, who we felt had great ideas, and the experience to enact them. We would also like to ask ASG to consider removing the “ticket” system of campaigning in the future, as we feel it does more harm than good for the student body.

Matt Bellassai for Director of Student Life

The Progressive Alliance endorses Matt Bellassai in his uncontested campaign for Student Life Director. We are impressed by Matt’s extensive involvement as a freshman, and feel his ascension to Student Life Director would represent a natural progression of the leadership he has shown during his first year on campus. While we hope to see Matt develop a deeper understanding of the issues important to progressive student groups, he has shown a willingness to take the extra step in reaching out to students, as demonstrated by his vigorous campaigning despite a lack of opposition and the uniquely interactive nature of his campaign website. We look forward to working with Matt to advance the interests of our organizations in the coming year.

Mo Safdari for Academic Director

Progressive Alliance endorses Mo Safdari for ASG Academic Director. He has specific ideas for improving the academic experience at Northwestern and is not afraid to challenge the administration. Among the causes he intends to work on are making sure popular professors keep their jobs and offering more “green” classes at NU. Our only concern is his lack of knowledge on gender issues, but he has expressed a desire to learn about them.