Collegiate Times

Looks like Meredyth Kenney is busted.

I think I'll vote for 3/4 of the other ticket, and then vote in Kenney as well. Lets see if she is true to her word and drops out if she is not with her ticket.

How is this a burn? She's honest, which is more than we can say about other people.

Because she did, in fact, make those comments. Now, she just wants to back track and act like she didn't say them. Hmm, sounds like she has a bright future in the world of politics!

she did argue that they were out of context, and not necessarily wrong. but i still don't even think that's the case because she doesn't even sound bad in the other article...here she's just putting down the other ticket's president.

She's clarifying what she didn't want to flat out say earlier. But after being blatantly attacked, how much longer can she beat around the bush? She's showing that she has legitimate reasons for her statement. And as someone who has worked with the other ticket's president...she's right.

If she isn't willing to work with anyone but her ticket, then why would she ever make a change that all the students want but she does not? I don't care what her reasoning is, if you can't work with other people ten you should not be voted in.

Chris, man stop making wack comments. She works with a ton of different people every day and is one of the most personable people this school has seen!

I honestly don't understand why Kenney would single out yourSGA's presidential candidate, Emily Mashack. As someone who knows Emily on a very personal level, I can certainly attest to her leadership abilities. I personally think it was very rude and inapppropriate to put down the other ticket in any way. Honestly, do we want someone like that working on our SGA?

definitely not...because your in public relations you should know how to handle situations like this in a classier manner.

She was discrete about it until she was harshly attacked. Seems like everyone commenting really knows class.

I fully understand Ms. Kenney's explanation, but my question to her is simple: what would abandoning her position in the event of a split ticket accomplish? She is running for office because she has a clear vision of the way things should be. By winning, she will have an opportunity to work toward realizing that vision. Obviously, there would be a bit more adversity if the rest of the adminstration is against her, but the point here is that even if she is forced to work in an administration that disagrees with her, she would still have a better chance of enacting her vision than if she leaves her post. By leaving her post, there is no chance that her voice will be heard.

She only singled out the other ticket's candidate because she, herself, was singled out. She was called out by some kid, who I'm assuming has no friends to discuss this with, that decided to openly bash her in the CT. It's one thing to bad-mouth an entire group of people, but to single out one person in this way is entirely inappropriate. I personally think it's fairly respectable that she would step down in this situation. If the 4 elected officers don't share the same vision then they'll produce inefficient results. She never said she would "abandon" the organization all together. She would simply take on a lesser, more supportive role. I think it's interesting how everyone has blown this completely out of proportion.

To "Michael Brennan should get a life": I couldn't disagree more. If she truly believes that her "party" has the correct vision, she should do whatever she can to make sure it is realized. The appearance of inefficiency within governing bodies occurs because there is supposed to be a deliberate process that leads to change. Imagine what would happen if the Republicans simply bowed out of the Senate because they lack the majority. The point is that if you truly believe that your vision is correct, you need to fight for it, not leave under the guise of "efficiency." The best thing that you can do is to force the opposing party members to hear your view over and over. Continue to propose things that align with your vision. They may never listen, but they will surely never listen if you are not even in their midst.

Meredyth is a great person who has done a lot of great service to our University. She is obviously caught in an unfortunate and sticky situation where she made a mistake, but please remember that she is a student like ourselves and a great person. We are all human and we all make mistakes. There are people who recognize all you do Meredyth and I hope you realize that, thanks for being who you are.

She might do a lot for the school, but she also needs to realize that you need to be way more professional when in any leadership positions like that. A) She messed up by "disputing" a quote that is now very obviously not wrong to begin with and creating more drama than she needed to surrounding her ticket B) whether directly asked about it or not, she should not be putting down the other president because that's not classy, valid, or a reasonable cause to step down if elected to be under her.

To "Jason T": I couldn't agree more. If the Republicans were to simply bow out of Senate this country may be in serious trouble. This Senate position is one of the "supportive" roles I was referring to. I'm not a history buff, but last time I checked there has never been a Democratic President with a Republican Vice-President, or in this case "Secretary."

exactly. "secretary." big difference. and we aren't talking about the country we're talking about tech. regardless, she got upset about something she said that she realized was semi-controversial and wanted to take it back so she complained that it was out of context and then got burned for it

Doesn't seem to me that she's upset. She's explaining what the CT failed to explain. In fact, it seems like the article was written just so that CT staff could save their own rear ends since they wrote the article poorly. Nice reporting, Collegiate Times.

but on the other hand the whole article about the ticket isn't going to be written about meredyths issues with a split ticket. "frankly" no one cares! this whole thing just seems very stupid to me

The tape doesn't lie, and it fact, it has just erased any crediblity this kid may have had in the first place. Hey didn't Hilary Clinton say she was misqouted when she all out lied about being in the line of fire during her tenure as first lady? Ah the similarities!

This whole issue IS very stupid. Stop harrassing her! And Chris, you can disagree with her all you want, but the fact is, you're pretty obsessive with all your comments. I hope you realize all the publicity you are giving her. Positive or negative, publicity is publicity. And it's a good thing, cause she deserves the win. So keep it up!

hahahahha negative publicity certainly does not help! if anything has pushed me not to vote for her besides her ditzy-ness its this

I don't understand. Meredyth says she went into "great depth" following her statement, but all she said after it was an incomplete sentence that made no sense. I think she would have sounded dumb(er) if the rest of her quote was used.

Wow. To all you people who bash Meredyth and obviously have never even met her: you all need to get lives. Say you disagree with her all you want, but the fact remains that you people are flat out obsessed. Its disgusting to see you bash someone who loves this university more than anything. Grow up.

hokie, if you could explain to me the "big difference" between the responsibilities of the vice-president and secretary on this campus I'd appreciate it. They actually have somewhat similar involvement and duties to fulfill. And the reason I made a comparison to the Federal government was because 'Jason T' made the original reference. I do realize we're talking about Tech and not the country. Thanks though for pointing that out. If I were Meredyth, I'd feel extremely important seeing that you guys hang on to every word she says. If you're one of these people, I encourage you to meet her. She's a real nice girl and I'm sure she'd love the chance to justify herself in person. Or, I guess, you could continue to bash her just going by what the ever reliable, never misconstrued CT prints.

To Michael Brennan should get a life: True, the USA hasn't had a mixed administration. But we are talking about appointments there vs. elections here. Do you truly think that if we held elections for US cabinet positions, people would abandon their posts if the elected president were from the opposing party?

To "Grow up people": I have never met Meredyth. The point is that many people love VT but don't choose to run for SGA office. Once you decide to do that, it's a whole different ballgame. Her words are contradictory. If she wants so badly to serve the student body and has such a strong vision for the future of Tech, why would she ever dream of giving up an elected post that allows her to work toward this vision? It simply doesn't make sense.

Jason, I highly doubt any members of the cabinet would give up there positions. It's definitely an honor to be appointed or elected, whichever case you're looking at. BUT, if one of them were to step down due to opposing view points with the top dog, I wouldn't write an editorial in my local newspaper sharing my disdain; and, I wouldn't think any less of them.

but this girl won't even give that "top dog" a chance if that becomes the situation...which i really hope it does because that will just be funny

The point, though, is that it would be political suicide for someone seeking office to confide that they would automatically give up their seat should the election turn out unfavorably. It shows an unwillingness to put your job duties ahead of personal differences. If a national candidate said that, you wouldn't have to write about it in the local paper; it would be all over the national news.

She said she wouldn't give up a position on SGA Exec, so secretary or not, she's definitely going to have a voice. and since her coworkers respect her, she will make an impact no matter what position she's in. This girl has plans for the future of this position, and as far as I have heard the other secretary's got no plans whatsoever?!?!!

she never actually says that she doesn't like mashack. basically she doesn't want someone who thinks shes better than everyone else to lead the student gov., which is a legit point.

How much evidence do you need that The Total Package isn't in this for the right reasons? The fact that Kenney was misquoted does not dismiss the fact she isn’t truly in this for Virginia Tech. There are no political parties in SGA for those of you who are unaware. After elections, the SGA is a group people who want to serve the student body and improve Virginia Tech. If Kenney felt the same way she would gladly accept the position of Secretary and not get caught up in this mess. Furthermore, it serves as a testament to the “team” that The Total Package is, when Jennifer Vaziralli said at the debate that the rest of the ticket does not share Kenney’s view. Not only are they not unified but Vaziralli felt it was necessary to publicly hang her secretary out to dry. What a team.

Except that she wasn't even misquoted because she says in the interview exactly what it says in the story. And furthermore, she didn't even sound bad in the story until she got upset about her quote and attracted negative attention to herself.

If she isn't in this for Virginia Tech, then what would she be in it for? The title of SGA Secretary isn't going to make her resume any snazzier. She's been working for years to improve student life at Virginia Tech. Plus, Vaziralli's statement was not invalid. If Vaziralli was elected, but the rest of her ticket wasn't, then she would not have to work with Mashack. Though it obviously wouldn't be the ideal situation for her, she wouldn't have to put up with a sucky president.

"sucky president" That statement is completely off based. Who makes such a comment about someone who has not even been put in the position yet. Either candidate would do a great job and would be a great president. Their involvement has made that evident thus far. No one has said that the Total Package would do a bad job. They are just questioning their intentions.

Sadly, this is what SGA elections are always reduced to: people focusing of the BS. My guess is that the vast majority of you here don’t know a thing about how the Student Government Association works. And what’s even worse is that all of you are probably among the most informed of the voters. Some people will vote for someone because they know the capabilities of the candidate. Some people will vote for someone because they have read articles and comments in the CT. Some people will vote for someone just because they’re a friend. But the vast majority will choose who they vote for based on the most superficial reasons: “They had cool posters”; “That girl was hot”; “That name sounds cool” and worst of all “I just flipped a coin!”. You people reading this have the chance to move yourself from up from the masses who know zero about SGA . Learn a little about the organization, then learn a little about the candidates, then cast an informed vote. Student apathy has been running rampant and I know it’s a cliché, but if you’re not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. So please check out the SGA website (www.sga.vt.edu) and the candidates’ websites (www.votetotalpackage.com, www.yoursga.org). And feel free to bash me here or more privately through e-mail (SGAinformer@vt.edu).

Cynical, I agree with you - and agree on a larger level. Everything you say about the student body in regards to SGA elections applies, generally, to the US population when it comes to general election time. It's a sad state of affairs.

I stumbled across this article and although I am unsure who I will vote for, I find this Kenney quite funny. She's quoted [note: not misquoted] for stating her opinion, gets criticized , then responds by attacking the other groups president? I don't know why you would respond like that, and in my opinion she should have just left it at I "was slightly taken out of context." No, I don't know her personally but her reaction to everything does not impress me. I believe if one truly has passion for their ideas then they would do anything to have that opportunity to make a difference, and that includes working with those who they may not want to work with...people do it all the time in the real world.

I hope that she realizes that this is public documentation that anyone can see on the web. Whenever someone does a background check on her on the web, they will see this. It will be worse for her when the articles come out about her declining her postions!

Actually, they will see that she sticks to her word, makes ethical decisions, and knows when it is time to lead, and when it is time to step back. More power to her.