COGS election deserves redo

Manish, I have three words for you.

Let … it … go.

Not only did you lose, but if even ONE of those statements on the report was true you did not DESERVE the be the president. I am not an active voting member of COGS, but I do follow closely what goes on. In fact, I also attended the very last meeting.

One other thing as well. Who cares? We are all graduate students and we’re going to be finished, at most, in five years if we’re on a PhD route. For you I assume you have less than that? None of this stuff with COGS is going to matter once you graduate. You can still put on a resume/CV you were president of the organization for a year. Why don’t you put all this effort you have been putting into this choas into your graduate work.

How about we just do away with COGS all together and see if anyone notices?

Manish,

I noticed that you do not refute the allegations mentioned in the report. You can grandstand about democracry and fairness all you wish, but the fact remains that although the timing may have been poor, there was indeed concern about your capacity to lead. This happens in the political world all the time (see John Edwards and his affair during the primaries). The fact remains that until you can disprove the allegations against you, you 1) have not right to be COGS president or 2) claim that you were denied fairness.

Hear Hear! As with all forms of student “government”, they exist only as a powerless organization filled with people who like to hear themselves talk and discuss how important each other feel for being part of the government.

I agree, if COGS disappeared tomorrow, no one would notice. For that matter, I have a feeling a large number of graduate students don’t even care what COGS is or does.

Also, if you are going to talk about a report, maybe you should include some of the highlights and refute the items on the report if you feel they were wrong?

Graduate Student, I think you understood little more than the headline of the oped. The article talks about the need for a free and fair election, which this one for sure wasn’t. I am a proud student at MSU and such petty politics concerns me. MSU is not a jungle where everything that happens, however unfair, should be accepted. Manish in any case is not talking about himself here.

Manish,

I understand how you feel about this election. What happened to you was a low blow and crappy. I can say that because it’s happened to me before as well.

That being true notwithstanding, you need to accept that you lost the election. Nothing that was done was against any rules or procedures of COGS or any other governing body. There are numerous ways, using parliamentary procedure, that you could have addressed these issues at the time, however, that didnt happen.

“These actions were devised to rig the elections.”

Language is important here.

Jordi, which comment were you responding too? I’m the one who wrote comment one and two. I don’t know who wrote the third one later on.

Maybe graduate students don’t participate in academic governance because they are wise enough to realize by now that government is tyranny. Graduate student academic governance is not the only place petty, childish bickering takes place. Just take a took at the partisan gridlock in the New York State Senate. They are gridlocked at 31-31 because there is no lieutenant governor to cast a tie-breaking vote. Thus, New York State won’t even get a budget passed, because session cannot be held without a quorum of 32 senators, so either side of the contest has power to stall any and all senate action.

So, how much of your extended family pays taxes in Michigan, Manish? My entire family up through the early 19th century has been paying Michigan taxes only to have this diversity propaganda shoved down residents’ throats forcing them to subsidize the education of overseas competitors.

DJJ, ever heard of the concept of Immigration Surplus? Its the positive impact on this country’s GDP because of each additional, legal immigrant. If you don’t understand economics, I hope you concentrated enough in your history classes to know how many signatories to the declaration of independence were foreign born. Diversity is not only practical reality but is also part of the foundation of this country.

DJJ…just a quick question…the early 19th Century? Before Michigan was even a state?

MSUAlum2001, Michigan became a state around 1837

Well said James. I completely agree. I am interning at an International developmental office during summers and working with a variety of people I can only appreciate the talent overseas people bring to U.S. You’d be surprised to know that recent figures suggest an estimated contribution of $15.54 billion in the year 07-08 by the international students to the US economy!

Sorry to hear this is how the elections were held in COGS and the members continue to hold office after accepting violating free elections.

Alum made some good points. However, I differ on that nothing that was done was against any rules or procedures of COGS should make it acceptable to the students. Because that can also mean one student can hurt another one just because it is not written in the rules or procedures of COGS. One can find hundred ways to defend but malpractice is a malpractice is a malpractice, an unethical election is an unethical election.

People here seem to be far-fetched busy making prompt judgments.