And while I'm on the topic of Palestinians, the APPLE Party agreed to endorse one of their more prominent members for the position of Student Advocate. Student Advocate, for those who don't know, is the fifth Executive in the ASUC. She represents students with their legal problems in the University, including cheating and grade disputes. Traditionally it's been a non-partisan position, with the previous year's Chief of Staff being unanimously nominated for next year's Advocate.

Salam Rafeedie is this year's nominee. She was my Resident Assistant in the dorms last year; cheerful lady. The entire office supports her, she's party neutral, she's well-trained, and everything is absolutely perfect about her except for lingering suspicions that she hates Jews.

Salam is also a member of Students for Justice in Palestine, whose mantra is 'We don't hate Jews, we hate Zionists.' So here's the concern: can we nominate in good faith someone who may be a member of SJP first and Student Advocate second? Is she really willing to represent ALL students, regardless of ethnicity, faith, or position?

Personally, I think yes. So I voted for her. But I'll be watching her like several hungry hawks. After all, in her interview with Student Action she declared 'I will not run {on the same ticket} with a Zionist.' She also said 'I'm Salaam first and Student Advocate seventy-seventh.' in her interview with us. But she also promised to be totally viewpoint neutral, and I trust that. Email This Post!