Although Henry Alliger and running mate Sarah Walter have plans to streamline Government of the Student Body procedures, some GSB members said simplification doesn’t necessarily mean improvement.

The Alliger/Walter executive slate’s platform emphasizes simplifying student government and student involvement with both immediate and long-term projects, Walter said.

The finance process, in which GSB allocates money to student organizations, is full of contradictions and ambiguity, Alliger said.

Could it be improved?

“Alliger and Walter are trying to make it easier for each student group to go through the GSB finance process by reducing the time the process takes,” said David Stout, College of Business senator.

“Basically, they are taking all of the formal communication that is currently required … and making the process more personal and informal, so each student group needing GSB funding understands the process better and should receive funding faster and without hassle.”

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Senator James Vogl said the system works efficiently if students are informed about it. He said it would be fairly hard to simplify the system as much as Alliger wants in the time he has.

Walter said although not all of the projects proposed in their platform will be accomplished in one year, they will be able to lay the groundwork for future GSB leaders.

In addition to simplifying the finance process, Alliger said he would like to cut GSB cabinet positions as a way of streamlining the process of student government.

Simplifying the student government process, however, is not a good proposal, said Louis Kishkunas, GSB chief of staff.

Kishkunas, who is the campaign manager for the Groh/Deal slate, said simplifying means cutting away, rather than improving the process. He said it would be better to inform students about how GSB and the funding process work.

Vogl said it isn’t a good idea to cut positions in the cabinet early on because it could lead to executives taking on more work than they can handle. He said the cabinet may be necessary because the number of projects and programs previous administrations have pursued may not be possible with a reduced cabinet.

Alliger and Walter also emphasize their previous GSB accomplishments in their platform. Walter said Alliger has the most GSB experience of anyone returning in the fall.

“Another important aspect to consider is our track record and the things that have been accomplished thus far in GSB,” Alliger said. “Our campaign isn’t a lot of ‘We will do this’; we’re talking about what we have already done and what that means we’ll be able to do.”

The Groh/Deal platform could easily be completed immediately after being elected, he said.

Kishkunas, however, said Alliger’s track record is not clear.

“Alliger was in the position to start a lot of these projects already, being the head of GSB senate … he has influence over what goes on, and there’s not one bill he has proposed or approved about the finance process at all,” Kishkunas said. “All of the projects he has passed have been funding bills, where Groh’s emphasis is on a larger variety of issues.”

Vogl said he didn’t think Alliger and Walter have clearly defined what their accomplishments are.

“I see, personally, a lot of ambiguities,” he said. “They’re not defining specific accomplishments they’ve done; they say they are accomplished student leaders. I’m a person who likes specificity and a track record you can see.”