 |
|
SGA presidential election
on horizon
Incumbant may consider running for second term |
David Forbes
SGA Beat
|
The deadline
is fast approaching for the Student Government Association (SGA)
presidential and vice presidential nominations.
Nominations are due tomorrow at 4 p.m. in the SGA office. Nominees
for either of the positions must have a 2.25 GPA and 65 hours of
credit by the end of this semester. No previous SGA experience is
required to run for either office. Elections start March 17.
The duties of the president include representing student interests
with the administration and setting an agenda to implement student
interests. The SGA vice president presides over student senate meetings
and oversees elections.
Current President Ryan M. Eller said Tuesday he might run for a
second term.
“I feel like student body president and vice president are
the most important, vital leadership roles on campus, and those
roles need strong leadership,” Eller said.
Vice President Ezell P. Williams is not running for next year. Williams
stated Tuesday that doing so while overseeing elections would be
a conflict of interest.
Dino DiBernardi, director of the center for student involvement
and leadership (CSIL) and advisor to SGA, said Tuesday personality
played more of a role than the issues in a campaign.
“What generally drives student participation in elections is
the excitement created by the campaign staff. There are occasionally
issues that effect participation. But generally, if there’s
a big issue out there, usually all the campaigns will latch onto
it. It’s more about the personality of the candidate than a
particular platform,” DiBernardi said.
DiBernardi roughly estimated that turnout for student presidential
elections usually ranged between 18-25 percent.
CSIL checks the nominees to make sure they meet the requirements.
They also run online elections.
An elections committee of several senators is appointed by the vice
president to oversee the election process and make sure the campaigns
do not violate SGA bylaws.
“We monitor [the candidates’] budgets. Every year, someone
slips as far as the violations, no matter what. We saw a lot of
‘problems.’ I think the committee this year has done a
good job of setting out to stop problems before they start this
year,” said Kevin M. Turner, rules chair and chair of the election
committee, Tuesday. “One of the things we’re going to
do in the candidates’ meeting is discuss every bylaw and make
sure there are no gray areas. That way, in the future, there’s
no question about the consequences.”
Last year, the campaign was fought between five tickets, with an
extremely close run-off election afterward.
Many tickets were also cited for campaign violations on posting
signs and spending limits.
Williams said she doesn’t think this year will be quite so
competitive.
“I haven’t seen a lot of interest. There is some but not
the overflowing amount there was last year,” Williams said.
“I think it’s going to be an interesting election and
bring forth a lot of issues, and I’ll be excited to see the
results.” |
|
 |
 |
