One ticket promises to shake up the status quo and bring real change. The other features an older gentleman from the South and a young woman from Alaska. Sound familiar? A combination of coincidental similarities and purposeful parody have resulted in some serious parallels between this year’s U.S. and UC campaigns.
Charles T. James ’09-’10 and Max H. Y. Wong ’10 are focusing on bringing real change to Washing— Oh, sorry, we mean the UC. “You usually see the same thing: a ticket claiming experience and increased transparency and another one saying the UC isn’t relevant to students and we need to rip the structure apart,” James says. “I was getting tired of that because it doesn’t really change anything.”
What needs to change, according to James, is the culture and the mentality of the UC. If you feel like you’ve heard those words before, you have. Many times, in many speeches from the president-elect. But when asked whether their campaign was inspired by Barack Obama, Wong replied, “Actually, it was the other way around.”
“If you see any similarities between our campaign and his campaign,” James adds, “it’s because for so long the government has not included the
people in the process.”
In a different camp, Michael C. Koenigs ’09 and Aneliese K. Palmer ’12 bring much needed humor to the UC elections. How did Koenigs decide on Palmer for his running mate? “I had my chief campaign strategist scour Facebook,” Koenigs says. “He came across this particularly qualified and brilliant young lady, whom he poked. She poked back.”
Koenigs views Palmer’s “youth and origins” as her most appealing characteristics. But while Palmer may hail from the Palin state, she is quick to point out the differences between herself and the mayor of Wasilla.
“She knows how to play the flute and I don’t,” Palmer says. “She’s a maverick; I’m not much of a maverick. She shoots things; I love animals.”
If nothing else, the UC elections allow students to relive the joys of debating and analyzing the candidates. Change or Comedy? It’s up to you...
—Meaghan E. Lyons
