The heart....: September 2006

MacVivo, Trymore
Joint Board Election Trends
The recent SGA Joint Board election had a 61 percent voter turn out, the same range as other elections done since the revolutionary introduction of online voting. SGA president Chris Hall ’07 was impressed by the enthusiasm of the voters. ‘I'm personally pleased with the level of participation,’ he said adding that, ‘I think that it went extremely well altogether.’ Every sit in the nine dorm clusters was contested. This is a far cry from the past when voter apathy and lack of senatorial candidates dogged SGA. During those times, SGA president and vice presidents would hold emergency meetings to appoint eligible students to Joint Board. In the fall of 2003, the then SGA President Liz Allan ’04 and Vice President Devan McGranahan ’04 were forced to make seven senatorial appointments after no one chose to run in Read, James, Loose and dorm D. ‘I was unaware that Liz Allan had appointed Senators to open positions in the past, but I'm pleased that our elections were competitive enough that I was not faced with such a task,’ Hall said.
As Joint Board elections go, this fall’s election didn’t only extend the trend showing increased student participation in SGA but it also saw more than one write in candidates winning the election. Ramstad Kirby ’08 won 28 percent of Loosehead votes cast while Kathryn Battani ’09 won 71 percent of the votes cast in a Jamaland run-off. This was a repeat of fall 2005 when Kat Henry ’06 and Nora Shelly ’08 ran on a write in ticket. Former Administrative Coordinator Megan Goering ’08 offered a probable reason behind the success of write in candidates. She said ‘Because they are not officially listed on ballots, a much larger burden falls on write-in candidates for publicity and advertisement. While this can be a hindrance due to time constraints, it also encourages candidates to be energetic in meeting new people, promoting door-to-door, and preparing thoroughly for meet-and-greet events.’
Both Ramstad and Battani used the same strategies to get the votes. ‘I campaigned to two days straight, and I put up my statement of intent in every bathroom stall and on my plan,’ Ramstad said. She explained that ‘the most helpful part of my campaign was going door-to-door’ where ‘I was able to introduce myself to potential constituents.’ This is the same stratagem Battani employed. ‘I wrote a statement and posted it in all the bathrooms, and I also went door knocking to let people know I was running as a write in,’ she said. Battani however admitted that ‘I was surprised that I won. I figured I would be very difficult.’ Door-to-door campaigning is the same tactic Chris Hall used when he ran for Joint Board. ‘
Whereas in other dorm clusters few candidates put their names forward, Clangrala saw more than four students contesting for two sits. Investigations by the S&B revealed that more people chose to contest in Clangrala because Hall had encouraged them to. ‘I only ran at the behest of SGA president Chris Hall, who sent me an email saying that there were not enough candidates,’ Daniel Hardin ’07, who lost the election in a run-off said. Hall confirmed Hardin’s assertion saying ‘It is true that I sent out personal letters to those candidates who I thought were qualified in every cluster.’ Hall added that this tactic has been done in the past by other SGA presidents and VP/PAA. ‘This was not only to let them know that we recognize their efforts and level of activity around campus as something to be admired, but also that they fit the profile of a student leader, and someone who we would like to become involved with SGA’
Despite encouragement from SGA, only three people ran for three sits available of East campus dorm cluster. ‘The election was low key this side, because there only three candidates for three spots,’ Miranda Parley ’09, the new senator East campus senator said. ‘I wasn’t surprised that I won,’ she added.