New President Proves Nice Guys can Finish First

By: Caitlin Nolan

Watching Steve Townsend take control of the Marist Student Government meeting in a way only a natural born leader could, you would never have guessed that he had no intention in becoming involved with student government when he began at Marist College.

“In high school I did not affiliate myself with student government at all,” Townsend said. “I ran for freshman class

Steve Townsend, pictured at the Annual Transition Dinner, hopes to create a more informal relationship between student body and government. Photo courtesy of facebook.

president because on move in day there was this kid who said he was going to run and he really pissed me off because I was sweating my ass off moving things up and down the stairs and I figured I wanted to run against him, and then I won.”

This sort of fluke may be one of the best things to have happened to Townsend and the student body. When walking into the Student Government office, you can instantly tell Townsend is in his element as the newly elected Student Body President. He knows everyone in the office, is running in ten different directions to make sure everyone is comfortable and prepared for the upcoming meeting and can tell you everyone’s first and last name who is in the room. He greeted me with a high five and a genuine “Thanks for coming” and asked if there was anything he could do to make me more at home. Clearly, Townsend is a people person.

“After winning, I had to figure what to do from there,” Townsend said. “That year we ended up winning class of the year, so I figured something must have been going right.”

While running around the office and talking to all who enter, Townsend does not miss a beat in greeting one female sporting rather large sunglasses with an energetic, “Hey Bono, what’s up.” She ignored it and took her seat, clearly used to his good natured humor and quick wit. When it came down to business though, Townsend became serious.

One of the first issues on the agenda that Townsend brought to the table was the move from “Student Government Association” to “Marist College Government.” The move to a more personal atmosphere is an essential facet of Townsend’s goals for his administration.

“One of my main objectives is to let everyone know who we are and what we do; there are going to be a lot of changes this year,” Townsend said. “In the comments section of the online ballots, 90% of the comments students made showed that they didn’t know what we did. I will be a failure as Student Body President if everyone at Marist doesn’t know who we are and what we do.”

Among his many plans to get the student body and Student Government to establish a closer relationship, Townsend, who previously served as Senate Speaker, plans on beginning the administering of surveys. Members of the Student Government will soon be found passing out surveys concerned with the interests of the students. During the meeting, Townsend put it simply, saying, “I see us as one entity. We are the Marist Student Government and the best thing to do is get together and get our name out there.”

If his administration is anything like his campaign, Townsend has nothing to worry about. Employing unique methods of advertising and appealing to the masses by taking the time to actually knock on doors and meet those he could one day represent.

“It was intense,” Townsend said of the campaigning experience. “It was probably the most nervous I have ever been in my entire life; it was an exciting nervous feeling. We knocked on over 1000 doors, we met everyone.”

Both Townsend and his running mate, Victoria Billeter, made use of every creative outlet possible to ensure those on campus were educated on the upcoming student government election.

“I had a running mate which, before Erik, was unheard of,” Townsend said. “I felt that if I was going to appoint someone, the student body should know them. We talked to every club we could and we had 110 t-shirts walking around. We had postcard fliers explaining what we did, what have done what we want to do.”

Upon mentioning the postcards, Townsend grabbed his backpack and fished out what appeared to be a tiny, blue card. These cards could be found throughout campus during the Month of March. Listed on the cards were the accomplishments of both Townsend and Billeter separately and joined, and an account of all goals set for the future if elected. Among those listed under Townsend’s name was the fact that he has “raised over $109,000 for St. Jude’s Research Hospital.”

“I think one of his biggest achievements was what he has done for Saint Jude,” Ben Condon, Townsend’s roommate of two years said. “He brought it to the school. He has just taken the reigns and it has grown tremendously. He has gotten all of the clubs involved and they now have a letter writing night where they get sponsorships and donations.”

Former Student Body President Erik Zeyher echoed Condon’s sentiment, saying Townsend has worked tirelessly to improve the conditions of others.

“Since his freshman year Steve has worked tremendously hard on Saint Jude [charities],” Zeyher said.

After sitting down with Steve Townsend, the fact that all who know him well can instantly say he is a hard worker comes as no surprise. Initiative and a strong work ethic is only to be expected in a President, and Townsend is no exception.

“I thought I could do good for the student body,” Townsend said. “It wasn’t a personal goal of mine [to be Student body President], but I had a lot of plans and I thought the only way to get those plans done was to do it myself.”

Can Obamamania be the Nation’s Salvation?

 

Turning Heads: President Obama's likeness was a popular guise this past Halloween. (photo courtesy of www.bbc.co.uk)

By Robin Miniter

Touted as the one-man stimulus package, President Barack Obama has become not only an international icon, but a marketable celebrity of epic proportions. With face has appeared on merchandise from bobble-head dolls to frocks on the catwalks of Milan, his internationally resounding promise of change has people hanging on his every word and parting with their dollars.

The year 2009 promises to give aid to the American people and fallen markets in order to regain a national sense of confidence and bring us out of the current recession. However, long before the official papers were signed and the act was passed, economists and journalists were already taking note of the way the Obama brand was creating ripples on the local economic level.

In an interview with the Salt Lake City Deseret News, James Fisher, a marketing professor at St. Louis University, said, “People are trying to purchase a piece of history — or sell it.”

A sophomore Fashion Merchandising at Marist College, Danielle Morrin noted that, “Obama is not your grandparent’s president.”

“He is hip, he is trendy,” Morrin said, noting how easily his face has become a brand icon, “Everyone wants a piece of him…around the time of the election and once again during the inauguration, sales for his memorabilia skyrocketed around the world.”

WA Today, the leading newspaper reporting from Perth & Western, Australia, reported the millions of people descending upon Washington for the inauguration from all over the world. “Many in Washington’s tourism industry are calling it the Obama bounce, booking up hotels months in advance,” the newspaper said. The National, a newspaper from the United Arab Emirates, profiled small businesses in the Washington D.C. area reaping the benefits from the frenzy.

Jim Warlick, formerly a small purveyor of capitol-related merchandise, is now in the place to retire. In the days leading up to the election, he opened a second store; closer to the date, he planned to open five more. “I’ve been in the business 28 years and I’ve never seen anything like this,” Warlick said. He noted the over 50,000 pro-Bush buttons and other miscellaneous merchandise he now has in storage.

Pres. Barack Obama makes multiple appearances on the runways of Milan. (photo courtesy of www.concreteloop.com)

Halfway across the country in Greenville, Ohio, Democratically-affiliated Tigereye Design started off with only 30 employees; at the peak of the campaign, over 500 people were employed. Though they have now dwindled to a mere 50, Justin Hemminger of Tigereye said, “The Obama merchandise put a lot of people to work in our part of Ohio.”

Though unprecedented popularity of Obama-related merchandise has created small-scale economic boost in revenue and short-term job creation, Marist College Political Science major Melissa Ryan does not think it will have profound effects on the economy.

“The fact that a lot of people are buying Obama merchandise certainly isn’t hurting the economy, but essentially I don’t think it is helping enough to have any long term effect,” she said.

As an associate producer for the Today Show, Jennifer Powell said via e-mail correspondence, “After seeing the numbers of the unemployed jump so drastically high week to week and the amount of cutbacks across the board, people are really having to look hard at what they need vs. what they want.” She comments on the appearance of Obama themed Chia pets and dog bowls: “Obama merchandise is something that definitely falls into the wants category, so it’s considered a luxury item that people are willing to go without.”

Devin Lamar, a Poughkeepsie native and local History Education major at Dutchess Community College, said, “He’s his own market. For example, people have made dolls out of his daughters. People are buying into the Obama brand – literally and figuratively. This unique following may provide a small-scale economic boost, but on the national level, he is just one man.”

Lamar did note that Obama’s new stimulus plan will be effective in jump-starting small businesses while reigning in the high rolling CEOs.

“He cannot single handedly turn the economy around with a few souvenirs,” said Lamar. “The American people are going to have to further contribute.”

The small boom is not expected to last long. Perhaps Obama’s official stimulus plan with be the “plan B” our country and wallets need.