After lofty promises were made during this year’s election campaign period, Adam Russell, next year’s incoming Students’ Society president has vowed to lead the SSMU with “so much transparency that ‘you won’t even see me.'”
Russell, a U7 earth and planetary sciences student, said he is tired of students’ general inability to truly see what is going on in the SSMU, and that executives and councilors need to be much more transparent in all aspects of their jobs.
“What it boils down to is a commitment from me to the students that they will be able to dissect every aspect of my life,” Russell said. “And I think the best way for students to be able to do that is for them to be able to see right through me. Almost as if I’m not even there.”
In what the incoming president is coining his “ghost term in office,” Russell plans to spend very little time attending to the actual duties of the position from within the Shatner building and instead spend most of his time at penny arcades and malt shops.
“I figure the less I’m actually there, the less I’ll actually have to show to people and people will stop complaining about transparency. You can’t complain about not being able to see what I’m doing if I’m not doing anything.”
Jack Stewberg, the current SSMU president, has taken a lot of flak for what some have called his lack of transparency during the tenure of his presidency. This is particularly true of his dealings with Bob’s Vendors to get two new pop machines installed in the cafeteria, an especially touchy issue after the closing of the Urban Planning Café in the fall.
“It was just a couple of pop machines,” Stewberg said. “I don’t understand why people needed to see transcripts of texts to my mom. That’s a bit too transparent.”
After his term in office, Stewberg said he can totally understand why Russell has decided to take this course and fully supports the decision.
“They want to know ever bit of your life and pry into everything. Can’t a guy have a Friendster account without being constantly pestered?”
However, while a number of current and incoming councillors are delighted by Russell’s commitment to transparency, others have raised concerns about the method Russell intends to use to achieve such accessibility and transparency.
“I love transparency. I actually love most empty words that end in -y,” said Roger Godolfy, Faculty of Internet Memes representative to SSMU Council. “But I’m worried about this idea of not actually doing any work. I’m not sure if this strategy will pay off in the long run.
Pepper Brooks agreed with Godolfy, “it’s a bold strategy, Cotton. Let’s see if it pays off for him.”
Despite these concerns, Russell said she is “pretty resolute” in her plan and can’t wait to start next year. However, she added, “summers are kind of crazy and a lot could change before next September.”
“I mean, like, a lot can happen over the summer,” Russell said. “I may change my mind about this transparency, or I may completely change my mind about this presidency and not do it at all. Whatever.”
