Attack on Rosensteel 'misguided'

On Wednesday October 14, at the ASUA Senate meeting it was brought to the attention of the student body that Travis Klein is pursuing the recall of ASUA Administrative Vice President Ryan Rosensteel. The Wildcat promptly covered the story and thusly became public knowledge.

I have no problem with the Arizona Daily Wildcat's coverage of the issue, as it is newsworthy. What I do have a problem with is this misguided attack at a qualified and dedicated official. The attacks are quite possibly one of the most ridiculous attempts at unnecessary attention.

I will easily concede that ASUA is, like any other body, flawed and has had it's share of mistakes (both elected officials and their decisions). But, attacking Ryan Rosensteel is simply ludicrous.

Mr. Klein has stated that Rosensteel allegedly made campaign violations in his run at Admin VP. It is also alleged that former Elections Commissioner Marcos Hernandez knew of these violations at the time and thought too little of them to act against Rosensteel and therefore gave his tacit approval. Regardless of the validity of these allegations, the time to take action for such actions, as stated in the ASUA Elections Code, has passed

In regard to Mr. Klein's argument that the Administrative Vice President is a unnecessary position I have two statements.

First, the Admin VP is in charge of the two most visible aspects of ASUA, Spring Fling and Escort Service, in addition to all of the other Programs and Services of ASUA. Without the VP no direct superior would exist for these activities or they would overload the other Executive Officers.

Dividing up ASUA between the President and the two vice presidents is so that the officials have time to be students as well as allowing them to specialize in their jobs. Furthermore, Mr. Rosensteel (in addition to the other executives) serves on other committees for ASUA as a whole. Second, the ASUA Constitution is set up so that ASUA must have an Administrative Vice-President to function.

So, eliminating the position by simply getting rid of Rosensteel is again a useless step.

The most subjective of Mr. Klein's arguments is that Ryan Rosensteel is unfit to serve as an official in ASUA. This is also the most insane of all his reasoning. In the last three years that I have been involved with ASUA I have seen more than one incompetent official, elected and appointed.

But to even suggest that Ryan Rosensteel is one of those people is infuriating. He is respected by Programs and Services Directors, liked by his other Executives, and admired by the rest of ASUA. He has proven himself dedicated and selfless.

I beg you all not support this ridiculous petition. The students will be the final voice of course and I hope you all make the right choice to believe in the man elected by the students to do the job he has done so well so far. And, finally to Travis Klein, I hope you can take your energy and point it in a more appropriate direction.

Derick Kurdy
Criminal Justice Junior