Janos for Trustee!

Ed. Note: Let me say first of all that this is not an endorsement of Janos; I'm just reporting on something I find interesting. I do, however, think having a young alum on the board is a good idea, and one I know the Nomination Committee rightfully thought about. Whether Janos is the man for the job or not, I'll let you decide.

Janos Marton, twice-former SA President, wants your support to put him on the ballot as a petition trustee. Here's why:

There are essentially three reasons why I am running, and why I believe I would be the best choice for the Board of Trustees.
1) I believe that Dartmouth needs to pro-actively move in a new direction if we are to remain competitive as one our country’s great institutions. The ever-increasing competitive nature of the job market means evaluating our academics, related programs, and career services planning to ensure that Dartmouth students have every opportunity possible available to them upon graduation. Integrating Dartmouth’s greatest resource, its alumni, deeper into the fabric of the college will be beneficial for everyone who wants to keep Dartmouth strong.
2) Moving in a new direction means keeping our traditions strong, not letting them fade. It is the strong personal relationships, the sense of camaraderie, and opportunities for leadership provided by the Greek system, athletic teams, and student organizations that are the cornerstones of the Dartmouth experience. They engender the deeper sense of community that many other institutions cannot provide for students once their four years are over.
3) The Board of Trustees, while very distinguished, would benefit from the addition of a young perspective, the perspective of someone who is in touch not only with what concerns current students and recent alumni, but also the specific challenges the next generation of Dartmouth students and graduates will face as they leave college. My own background in college governance, including my service as Student Body President, will help me serve this role.

Finally, in light of recent tension between what is seen as the traditional inner-circle of Dartmouth governance and its controversial reformers, I can only say that I will bring to the discussion a legacy of fighting for reform, without an ideological inflexibility that would prevent me from getting as much as possible done during my service to the College.

If you would like to support Janos, even just for a lark, you must submit a petition in writing (i.e. snail-mail), not via email or fax, but I honestly can't tell where to send it (which says something about how the difficulties of petitioning—the whole page about petitioners is pretty damn unclear). Any way, the petition can be found here.

I must say, though, the nominated slate is really strong.