SGA Vice Presidential Candidate Pranay Mamileti (26C) speaks at the Wheel Debates on Feb. 23. (Jack Rutherford/Asst. News Editor)
Dear Editors,
I am writing this letter to express my disappointment in the Editorial Board’s decision to endorse my candidacy for vice president of the Student Government Association (SGA) while dismissing my running mate, Abigail Dubinski (25B). This choice is confusing and unfair given that our platform, commitment to open expression and campaign as a whole are shared.
I have watched Abigail work over the past year, and I haven’t seen anybody show as much compassion for the students they serve as her. I chose to run with Abigail because I genuinely believe that there is not a single person on this campus better equipped to be the SGA president for the coming year.
As I stated during the Wheel Debates, Abigail worked incredibly hard over the past year to uplift student voices. Just in the past month, she was able to work alongside other members of SGA to secure meetings for students from Palestinian, Israeli, Jewish, Muslim and Arab student groups on campus with Enku Gelaye, senior vice president and dean of Campus Life, and Emory University President Gregory Fenves. Endorsing me is tantamount to endorsing Abigail. Our shared platform was developed together and reflects what we can accomplish as a team — not as individuals. Our priorities are based on mutually shared values. Any reservations the board had regarding our platform should have been directed at both of us equally. If they deemed our platform lacked the specificity needed for an endorsement, then I, too, should not have been endorsed.
I would also like to be clear that the Editorial Board never asked Abigail what her “political ideology” was. Their decision to assume what her ideology was, based on nothing but Abigail’s identity and associations, was wrong and deeply hurtful.
I have zero hesitation in saying that Abigail is the most qualified and experienced candidate for SGA president, and I strongly encourage the Editorial Board to reevaluate the decision to endorse “no confidence” in the presidential election.
Pranay Mamileti (26C) is from San Jose, California.
Managing Editor Sophia Peyser (25C), Editorial Board Editor Marc Goedemans (25C), Opinion Editor Saanvi Nayar (26C) and Asst. Opinion Editor Lola McGuire (26C) recused themselves due to a conflict of interest with Mamileti and were not involved in writing or editing this letter.
