To be elected president or vice president of the United States, candidates must be at least 35 years old.

To be elected for an ASB leadership position in most high schools, candidates must be either a junior or a senior.

The rules for Linfield’s ASLC elections are surprisingly relaxed in comparison to most other institutions. This fact could have negative implications for the college.

Student officials do have important roles to play on campus, and electing qualified people is important to everyone in the community.

Vice presidential candidates are only required to have one semester at Linfield and a 2.5 cumulative GPA. The president must also have a 2.5, with at 45 class credits on record.

All the candidates for the vice president position this semester were freshmen, who have less than a year of involvement at Linfield.

“The VP serves as the voice of the student body,” said current Vice President Ivanna Tucker.

Does a person with only a few months in classes and clubs, who has seen so little of what the college has to offer, have enough knowledge of Linfield to be the voice of the students?

A junior or senior in office would have at least an entire additional year of experiences to draw from when trying to advocate for the student body.

“It will reflect later if they truly understand the expectations of the position. We are doing our best to train them and make sure they are prepared for the upcoming school year,” Tucker said.

The candidates may be trained extensively, but there is a level of understanding which can’t be achieved by someone who has less than a year of campus involvement.

This could simply be a problem of represenation. Where were the upper class candidates?

Perhaps juniors and seniors do not run for office because the commitment is too much for their typically loaded schedules.

One quality candidate is all it would take. If the rules regarding underclassmen running for office cannot be changed, upperclassmen should step up to the challenge.

If it’s important to the student body for their voice to truly know the needs of the students, then it’s up to the upperclassmen make that happen.

Until then, our most vital student leaders may continue to transition straight from colloquium to office.

-The Linfield Review Editorial Board