Student government may not evoke a profound sense of relevance for many students, but the upcoming student body election provides an opportunity for students currently involved in student government to connect with students who are not. From the purchasing of Monon Bell tickets and reserving transportation to athletic events to setting the student activity fee, members of student government have broad discretion on a range of issues that affect student life.
“I do think it’s important that people do participate in the election,” said Student Senator Kyle Cassidy ’08, who is also a student election commissioner. “It’s fairly self evident. People should vote so they can help select the people who will be running the student body. There’s an image that the student senate doesn’t really do much. But we have a budget of over $200,000 that we hand out to the various clubs. We fund the National Act. We sometimes buy Monon Bell tickets. So if you want to have a say in how $200,000 of your money gets spent, in addition to how we respond to major events on campus, then you should show up and vote. Plus it takes like 5 minutes of your time.”
According to members of the Student Body Election Commission (SBEC), student body elections will take place Tuesday, December 4 and Wednesday, December 5 from 11:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M. in the Goodrich Room on the second floor of Lilly Library. Current students will vote for President, Vice-President, and four at-large seats for Class Representatives of the freshman, sophomore, and junior classes.
Students may only vote for representatives in their own class. Also, President and Vice- President are balloted separately. If a student votes for a presidential candidate, he is not required to vote for the candidate’s vice presidential running mate.
Mr. Cassidy explained there are only three-tiers of class representatives because the Student Senate operates annually rather than on the academic year, which makes dealing with finances easier.
Since the elections occur at the end of each calendar year, the class representatives spend one semester representing their current class and the second semester representing whatever class into which they will be graduating. Therefore, the original representatives of the junior class become representatives of the senior class during their second semester as senators.
The four class representatives with the most votes from their class constituents win the election. The presidential candidate with the most votes wins the presidency, and the vice-presidential race operates the same way.
To be considered an official candidate and placed on election ballots, students who wish to run for office must successfully complete the petition process. Petitions can currently be acquired from Senior Administrative Assistant Sherry Ross in the Dean’s Office in Center Hall 115.
Students must fill in their own biographical information on the petition, collect the appropriate number of signatures from the appropriate students, and return completed petition forms to Sherry Ross by 4:30 PM on Monday, December 3, 2007.
Students running for President must collect 75 signatures. Students running for Vice-President must collect 50 signatures. And students running for Class Representative must collect 25 signatures from students in the class they represent.
“The [Student Body Election Commission members] write up the petition,” President Jesse James ’08 explained. “Then they will collect all of those [Monday night] and compile the ballot list. They will oversee the voting site [Tuesday and Wednesday]. The commissioners determine where they’re going to set up voting and which times. They will also count the ballots Wednesday night. They will do a double count. [Vice-President] Boarman and I will be there to assure the count is official. Then we will announce [the results] that Wednesday night via email and then probably publicly at Thursday Chapel.”
The Student Body Elections Commission (SBEC) is made up of students not running for at large positions. The members are nominated by the President of the Student Body and confirmed by the Student Senate. Commissioner Jon Miller ‘08, Cody Stipes ‘11, and Kyle Cassidy ‘08 are the current members of the Commission.
Commission-member Cody Stipes has confidence that the elections will proceed smoothly. “We’ll be the ones that count the votes,” he said. “We’ll make sure no hanging chads or Florida recounts or anything like that goes on. No matter what happens next week at least the good thing is we know Hillary Clinton won’t be our president.”
Outside of just promoting their candidacies, students running for positions in student government should urge their peers to be part of the process that allows them to change things with which they are unsatisfied.
“Students should be involved in their government because, quite simply, it is their government,” Class Representative Aaron Bonar ’10 said. “If one doesn’t like something, then he has a vehicle that can register the complaint and try to make a positive change.”
The Student Government really does provide the students with a voice in how Wabash is run, but it can only be effective if students take advantage of this voice.”