Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / April 10, 1992, edition 1 / Page 12
Part of Elon University Student Newspaper / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
S.G.A. Elections '92 A record number of students turn out to vote Murray Glenn The Pendulum A record number of 885 students participated in last week's S.G.A. election. The turnout represents an increase of 197 students over last year's numbers and a 425 student increase over the elections for the 1990-91 school year. Carter Smith, president of the Student Government Association, credits the work ethic of the candidates and the campus-wide promotion of election day as keys to getting students out to vote. "In the race for president, both candidates got started early. There was a lot of enthusiasm shared. The candidates wore promoted as people who had ideas about making positive changes," Smith said. Smith went on to say that kicking off the election with candidate speeches during College Coffee helped increase the turnout. "We were able to grab people early in the morning and make them realize that they had an obligation to vote,” Smith said. Last week's election marked the first time that the S.G.A. used computer voting machines which were borrowed from the Alamance County Board of Elections. The machines rented to Elon are also used in national, state and local elections. According to Smith, the big advantage of the computerized voting machines is that they yield Most of the candidates spent election day shaking hands with voters instant resulLs. "We got them for accuracy and convenience and to prevent any problems or complications from occutring," Smith said. "The days of the hand ballot are gone. Todd Hershey/The Pendulum The days of the big voting machines are gone now that we have these computers." Close races in class officer elections Wendi WhitHeld The Pendulum There were many close races in the S.G.A. class officer elections. Michelle Scott won the tightest race when she defeated Michael Beale for senior class president by two votes, 118-116. With a decision that close, Scott admitted that the win "could have gone either way." "It's kind of a matter of luck that I got two more people out [to vote) that day," Scott said. The race for junior class president was also close. Colleen Gilmore defeated John Soderbcrg by only eight voles, 94-86. Gilmore attributed her win more U) her qualifications than to her publicity around campus. "Neither of us publicized that much," she said. "People knew 1 was a senator tliis yciir." Many of the candidates ran unopposed. Christine Byers won the racc for senior class vice presidciii, while Katie Brock won the racc for senior class secretary/ treasurer. Claudia Williams won the race for junior class vice president, and John Battaglia won the race for sophomore class president. No one ran for the offices of junior class secretary/treasurer, sophomore class vice president, and sophomore class secretary/ u'easurer. "I don't see this as a direct fault of S.G.A. There's always the factor that it wasn't publicized enough, but not enough people took initiative," Scott said. "It's up to students to find out the qualifications and get petitions. "We don't want someone in office that doesn't have initiative anyway," Scott said. Gilmore agreed that the elections could have been advertised better, but said that "S.G.A. is trying to increase awareness." "I know that there are leaders out there," Gilmore said. "We just have to find them." The race for the scTiatorial scats was anticlimatic because all of the candidates who ran were elected. Only 23 students ran for 24 scats. Carter Smith, president of S.G.A., said that the empty senatorial position and the vacant class officer positions will be filled in the organiz.ation's fall elections. SUMMER TIME! $10.05 to start. Part-time can lead to Full time after finals. Corporate scholarships and internships available for those who qualify. Call voice mall at 919-333-1519
Elon University Student Newspaper
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
April 10, 1992, edition 1
12
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75