The position of student-elected trustee is an important one at this University. Voting begins today to determine the newest member of the board, and the candidate elected will be charged with a unique responsibility: to represent student interests in an environment populated largely by Cornell alumni.

Student-elected trustees have a powerful voice at Cornell. They are among the University’s top decision makers, privy to closed-door meetings and University politics that affect the entire Cornell community. They lend a student perspective to the Board of Trustees, an outlook that is rooted in the immediate and long-term needs of the student body.

Because of their great influence at Cornell, student-elected trustees must be in touch with the pulse of the University community. They must understand the campus they represent, and they must appreciate the issues and concerns of the students themselves. Most importantly, they must have a plan of action for the future, one that can hit the ground running on behalf of students’ best interests.

Cornellians are fortunate this year to have four qualified candidates vying for the post of student-elected trustee. We are fortunate to see real competition for a position so vital to the student interest, and to see candidates so committed to communicating the needs of students to the powers that be.

The Sun had the chance to interview all four candidates on the ballot this year for student-elected trustee, and each student brings something valuable to the table. Ultimately, though, one candidate in particular demonstrates an especially impressive commitment to the student body, a desire to effect real and necessary change for the Cornell community and a plan to make that desire a reality. That candidate is Shawn Kong.

Shawn came to us last week with an exhaustively-researched plan of action for the Board of Trustees. His plan focuses on three major issues currently affecting the Cornell community, the most prominent of which is financial aid. It would have been easy for Shawn to profess his commitment to financial aid in the abstract, but Shawn’s ideas are more than mere abstractions. He approaches voters with a concrete plan, one that is both encouraging in its goals and striking in its detail. He addresses the financial needs of students struggling to pay for a Cornell education, and he is the one candidate who demonstrates a capacity to enact real change. Shawn is not only passionate; he has also done his homework.

More important than Shawn’s broad financial analysis, though, is his level of commitment to students’ needs. Shawn cares about Cornell students. He wants them to have jobs after graduation. He wants them to be able to afford an Ivy League education. He wants only the best for the students at this University, and he has come up with a plan that he is determined to see succeed by the end of his term. In a field of qualified candidates, Shawn stands out for his dedication and ability to make a difference. He is an exceptional candidate, and we endorse him in his bid to become Cornell University’s next student-elected trustee.