It was a wrestling match, and I had a ringside seat. The Student Government Association hosted a “Speeches and Snacks” event Monday, where candidates running for Class Council, Senate and Executive Office orated for votes in their favor. The hate and personal conflict between SGA members was apparent and appalling.

Running for SGA president are incumbent Scott Fisher and challenger Nick Vargas. At the event, their camps clashed, and tension reached iGossip Girl/i levels. This is a campaign. This is political pugilism.

But wait a second, aren’t we in college? And yet our epithet-tossing classmates are politicking Emerson with full force: flyers and slogans and Facebook groups.

I’m not sure where the hate came from. I do know that the hostility in SGA was long-coming, and that the negative energy present Monday was fueled from a year of one-sided cliquing, spiting and scheming.

Maybe we all subconsciously love a little gossip-love for someone to be upset.

We are engrossed in the drama-the scandals and the politics, and we love to complain and hand blame to anyone but ourselves.

But SGA needs to understand that we students don’t care about their politics, their parliamentary jargon, their constitutional backbiting, their feelings or their (ex-)friendships. We care about this school, our classes and our organizations. SGA’s job is to act as our liaison to the administration-advocating for our beliefs.

As students, it is essential we don’t play their game. This isn’t national, state or even municipal office. This is Emerson College.

When the election comes around, we should vote for the candidate we know can do the job well. We should vote for the candidate who has shown good leadership and good judgment-not for the one with the best politics or the most striking attacks. The right person for the job has already had two go-rounds and is deserving of one more: Scott Fisher.

iMeena Ganesan is a freshman print journalism major and a staff writer for /iThe Beacon.