2008 Woodie Awards
Letter: Perspective Needed in ASU Elections
Issue date: 5/26/04 Section: Opinion
Having read and reread all of the letters regarding the ASU elections, I must say that passions have risen to an unnecessarily heated level.
First, wild accusations that Ms. Van's letter was racist are preposterous and these people should reconsider that part of their argument. It is not racist for Armenians to vote for Levon because he is an Armenian, for anyone has the prerogative to vote for a candidate that they feel would best represent them.
A second claim that has no merit is that Ms. Van is accusing an entire ethnic population of ignorance and inability to make a fair judgment. Did she say that? Not even close.
The margin of victory was so slim that any major voting block could've tipped the election to either side. Kagan had his base; Levon had his. So the issue becomes about the criteria that each voter used to make their decision. I feel the majority of voters did not use the same criteria as I did as evidenced by the outcome. I based my decision on who [I thought was] the most qualified for the job. [My candidate] works the hardest at this school , has the most involvement on campus, has the most knowledge about the issues that affect this school, has the ability to work through the bureaucracy to get a task accomplished .
Anyone can run, even if they are not qualified or even if they don't care what others think, but that doesn't mean they should run. In my opinion, there are several individuals that exhibit the qualities I've listed to a greater extent than Levon. If other individuals ran, whose votes do you think they would steal? If I had run, for instance, I would have definitely been last in the plurality. I would have taken Igor's votes because his base is obtainable to me, but not Levon's votes because his base is not - just like it was Democrats voting for Nader that lost the election for Gore. If another Armenian had run, Igor would have won unless Armenians purposely picked one Armenian to vote for - there is no question about this. That is why Mayor Riordan lost the Republican gubernatorial primary leading to the Davis win and subsequent ousting.
I know both candidates and have worked with them closely and have qualified my criteria carefully so nothing I've written should be construed as disparaging to Levon. If he works hard, his learning curve will be short and painless to the rest of us on the board. He has the opportunity to be the best ASU president yet. I will do everything in my power to assist Levon next year because this school and student body deserves nothing less.
Ron Cabrera, Jr.
Commissioner Ethnic and Cultural Affairs
First, wild accusations that Ms. Van's letter was racist are preposterous and these people should reconsider that part of their argument. It is not racist for Armenians to vote for Levon because he is an Armenian, for anyone has the prerogative to vote for a candidate that they feel would best represent them.
A second claim that has no merit is that Ms. Van is accusing an entire ethnic population of ignorance and inability to make a fair judgment. Did she say that? Not even close.
The margin of victory was so slim that any major voting block could've tipped the election to either side. Kagan had his base; Levon had his. So the issue becomes about the criteria that each voter used to make their decision. I feel the majority of voters did not use the same criteria as I did as evidenced by the outcome. I based my decision on who [I thought was] the most qualified for the job. [My candidate] works the hardest at this school , has the most involvement on campus, has the most knowledge about the issues that affect this school, has the ability to work through the bureaucracy to get a task accomplished .
Anyone can run, even if they are not qualified or even if they don't care what others think, but that doesn't mean they should run. In my opinion, there are several individuals that exhibit the qualities I've listed to a greater extent than Levon. If other individuals ran, whose votes do you think they would steal? If I had run, for instance, I would have definitely been last in the plurality. I would have taken Igor's votes because his base is obtainable to me, but not Levon's votes because his base is not - just like it was Democrats voting for Nader that lost the election for Gore. If another Armenian had run, Igor would have won unless Armenians purposely picked one Armenian to vote for - there is no question about this. That is why Mayor Riordan lost the Republican gubernatorial primary leading to the Davis win and subsequent ousting.
I know both candidates and have worked with them closely and have qualified my criteria carefully so nothing I've written should be construed as disparaging to Levon. If he works hard, his learning curve will be short and painless to the rest of us on the board. He has the opportunity to be the best ASU president yet. I will do everything in my power to assist Levon next year because this school and student body deserves nothing less.
Ron Cabrera, Jr.
Commissioner Ethnic and Cultural Affairs
