He may be America’s best agent for “change,” but Sen. Barack Obama seems to be coming up short on originality.

Not only has the presidential hopeful been accused of lifting lingo from his pal, Gov. Deval Patrick, he’s also unknowingly stolen a page from the playbook of another, much younger politician: Student Government Association (SGA) President Joey Fiore.

Last year, during Fiore’s bid for SGA’s top office, his campaign’s mantra was “Think Big. Change is Now.” Like many aspiring presidential candidates before him, he offered an inspiring vision of an improved student community: “We’ve got what it takes to help the administration make Northeastern better every day. We must be the change we wish to see in the world. We should at least try, together,” he wrote in March 2007, paraphrasing Mahatma Ghandi, in his Facebook group, “Joey Fiore for President.”

Now, as Fiore’s reign draws to a close, it’s unclear if his vision was fully realized. The 2007-08 year seemed to be relatively quiet for SGA. Instead of fighting to save the scuttled Mission Hill shuttle bus initiative from 2006, this year’s SGA caved to public pressure and failed to find any alternatives. There was buzz about an optional opt-out fee to increase the school’s solar-powered energy funding, but student reaction to the initiative has been mixed. And at the most recent SGA presidential debate, one candidate even suggested making it an “opt-in” fee instead.

This year, SGA attempted to widen the canals of communication between the study body and the administration with a series of open forums, even sponsoring one with Northeastern President Joseph Aoun in November. But, blamed on little advertising, these drew low student turnouts.

Fiore’s tenure was generally marked by setbacks rather than successes. Attempts to reform the flawed Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution’s Code of Student Conduct have led to more talk, less action. Plans to use $25 million of students’ money to renovate Matthews Arena have stalled. Tuition continued to rise by roughly the same percentage as last year.

And despite a campaign that vowed to loosen the bureaucratic red tape known as the NU Shuffle, Fiore proved he is a learned politician when facing a promise he can’t keep: he clarified his position with an op-ed (“Shuffle’s end will take time, work,” March 17).

“Do I anticipate the Shuffle will be gone by July, though? No, that’s pushing it,” he wrote last week in The News.

This year’s crop of SGA presidential candidates has offered us the same caveats of increased summer class offerings, more effective communication between students and the administration and, of course, an overture of change, to deliver a stronger, more efficient student government than the one it is replacing.

In the context of a campaign, it seems perfectly natural. During every election cycle, you have to promise you’re going to do better than the last guy. You wouldn’t see Obama, Hillary Clinton or John McCain with slogans like, “Bush: He Wasn’t So Bad.”

But change needs to be more than just a buzzword. There is a distinction between campaign promises made on the road and the policy that is shaped in office. Sure, it’s difficult to match a vision with true legislative success. But students, and voters, can easily fall for pretty rhetoric and stock quotes from Ghandi. Throwing around phrases like “eliminating the NU Shuffle” may elicit applause from audience members during debates, but cheers will wane without proper follow-through.

Our two choices this year, SGA vice presidents Rob Ranley and Marines Piney, say the differences between them are slight. “I really don’t think we’ve ever disagreed on anything,” Piney told the crowd at the most recent SGA debate.

Here is my advice to them. If you’re looking for a way to distinguish yourselves from one another, the answer is simple: Give us change we can believe in. Be a candidate with a vision, but also bring a backbone and ambition to serve your constituents the best you can.

Unfortunately, we don’t have access to a crystal ball. We won’t know what kind of president either Ranley or Piney will be until they’re elected. And by then, it’s too late. But students, we have an opportunity. During these next weeks, we can ask the tough questions and demand straight answers. We can participate in debates and ask our candidates to move beyond election rhetoric and into specifics once in office. We can make them understand that just because a presidency isn’t marred by controversy or scandal, does not make it a success.

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or if we wait for some other time,” Obama told a crowd of supporters at a Super Tuesday rally. “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”

Candidates, it’s your turn. Be a devoted public servant first, and a politician second. Prove to us you’re the change we seek.

Because I, for one, am tired of waiting.

– Jeff Miranda can be reached at [email protected].