Praise for the CEO
There seems to be one thing that all those involved in this year’s Concordia Student Union elections, including candidates and student press, can agree on: the Chief Electoral Officer, Oliver Cohen, has not been doing a satisfactory job. The reality is, in fact, the opposite. It is incredibly saddening that nobody is able to recognize his professionalism, diligence and dedication.
Candidates on both sides are outraged at Oliver’s lack of action in favour of their party, with each alleging the other has broken electoral rules. However, no accusations have been clearly substantiated enough to merit action by the CEO. Oliver’s main function is to oversee the smooth functioning of the election, not to be bogged down by the shit-throwing and dirty political tactics that inevitably come with CSU elections. Nor is his job to deal with every petty and insignificant complaint raised by unreasonable student politicians. The CSU judicial board will ultimately be consulted if any of the allegations are worthy of sanctions.
Oliver has also been targeted by the student media for not being accessible enough. Considering that he was unfairly blasted in a The Concordian op-ed for being supposedly missing-in-action after giving them an interview, Oliver is totally justified in being wary of the media because of their constant predilection for sensationalizing the un-sensational.
Oliver is apolitical, fair and completely independent. In short, he is everything that one would hope for in a CEO. His job is incredibly difficult. This year’s elections have been the most contentious and contested in recent memory. Inundated with countless contestations—often ones that are silly and useless—the CEO also has to deal with a student media that is obsessed with lampooning him. Bashed from all sides, Oliver has done remarkably well in his capacities as CEO considering the circumstances.
It is sad that Oliver will be stepping down from his position as he is graduating this semester. Concordia will lose a CEO with integrity. I hope that the next CEO that is appointed can live up to the lofty precedent he has set.
—Joel Suss,
Arts and Science Councillor
This article originally appeared in Volume 31, Issue 29, published April 5, 2011.
