Candidates running for positions in student government have campaigned for the past two weeks in an effort to garner votes for the upcoming student body election. From the graduate side, candidates for student body President and Vice-President are running unopposed. The undergraduate field includes a total of five candidates for SGA Executive President and two for Executive Vice-President. The Executive Vice-President is responsible for running sessions of the Undergraduate House of Representatives (UHR). The candidates for undergraduate Vice-President and President of the student body participated in an hour-long debate at the campanile on Tuesday, April 6. Common themes of the debate revolved around how candidates would increase student involvement in SGA and how they would address the current shortcomings of student government. Candidates for president were also asked about their thoughts about the proposed budget cuts from the state legislature and how that would affect their goals for SGA for the coming year.
In addition to positions in the executive branch of student government, students have also been campaigning for legislative positions in UHR and the Graduate Student Senate (GSS). Over 70 candidates at the undergraduate level are running for positions in UHR. UHR and GSS are responsible for allocating the revenue collected through the student activity fee (SAF), which totals approximately $4.3 million for the following year.
Voting for legislative and executive positions begin on April 9 and will continue through April 14. Results will be announced on the final day of voting.