nice smirk

That guy

This is something we don’t normally do, so please forgive us if we’re really awkward at it.

Bwog officially endorses Conor Skelding for University Senator. We feel that he is the most qualified for this job and is the best candidate moving forward to bring some sort of progress to the university.

We realize some may see this as a conflict of interest but, to clarify, Conor has not done (and will not do) any elections coverage and, should he be elected, will not cover any USenate-related stories aside from acting as a noted source. He also has not seen this endorsement before you did. We kind of hope we don’t embarrass him. But not really.

The thing about being a Bwogger is that you end up knowing more about campus issues than any of your non-Bwoggie friends. Being on our listservs and participating in our community immediately gives you at least a basic understanding of what’s going on at Columbia. This awareness really forces you to care about the issues and gives you a heightened, thorough understanding of the issues. You know what’s happening–but you also know why it happened, who was involved, what students and administrators think about it, and the proper way it could be fixed or better handled.

But Conor consistently takes it eight steps further than just an understanding. He has been an active member of Bwog–and thus the Columbia community at large–since he arrived on campus. He went to his first Senate plenary in his first semester of freshman year.  Conor was one of those annoying go-getters who wanted to be involved in every story at every level of significance and seriousness.

He has been a leading member of Bwog and the Blue and White Magazine (which he also joined fall of his freshman year and is now editor-in-chief of) his entire time here, giving him a comprehensive education on this school and the problems that face both students and administrators. Conor’s the one who remembers minute details from controversies we barely paid attention to. He is a resource to us as much as he is to readers–you should see all the work he’s done in his free time for WikiCU.

And it’s that kind of drive that shows Conor’s character and has defined his time here thus far. He doesn’t dip a toe into a story; he dives headfirst to get to the bottom and figure out what’s really going on.

Conor does this because he, more so than anyone else we know, genuinely cares about Columbia. We always think it’s funny (and, ok, sometimes we get really upset) when commenters say we’re trying to break apart the campus or hate everything here because–honestly and truly–none of us would dedicate our time to Bwog if we didn’t care about the betterment of this place, you sickos.

Nobody exemplifies that care, adoration, and hope for this institution quite like Conor.

As a Senator, Conor would work his ass off to enact change and see that things are getting done. Conor’s not one to fuck around and waste time on insignificant matters or bullshit discussions that make excuses rather than fix problems or cover up mistakes and carelessness rather than heed the community and try to make things better for the students. We’ve all seen enough of that over our tenure here to avoid it like the plague, and we all admire (…and frankly question) his decision to try and get embedded into campus politics.

Conor won’t always be the most fun to work with, trust us we know, but he will work hard for you. Having him on our team drives us to work harder, more thoroughly, and more accountably. He would only bring more of the same to the Senate. Conor knows and understands this community and the history on contemporary issues. He wants nothing more than to see Columbia at its best possible state. We support his campaign to do so and hope you will as well.  Voting starts on Wednesday.

Please enjoy yelling at us in comments,

Alexandra Svokos, Editor-in-Chief

Alexandra Avvocato, Managing Editor

Marcus Levine, Creative Editor