Low turnout

Despite low voter turnout, Student Government Association announced newly elected officers last week: President Sara Johnson, Vice-President Zaira Solano, Treasurer Barron Webster and Secretary Lindsey Hornsby.

The election drew only 382 voters, a significant low compared to last year’s 713.

“I was rather disappointed with the lower turnout this year,” SGA President Pro Tem. John Wright said. “Though the 382 total is higher than some years, it is a bit depressing to see the drop from the high of last year.”

Bad weather is one of the reasons suspected for the low voter turnout.

“The rain led to some confusion because the location of the voting tables had to be moved,” Hornsby said.

“Students did not know where to vote when the table was moved and they did not want to have to stand in line outside in the bad weather,” Wright said.

SGA members said they hope to remedy the low voter turnout in the future by changing the election days.

“Turnout typically drops off greatly on Friday afternoons,” Wright said. “To fix that problem, elections next year will more than likely take place on Wednesday and Thursday. This way people who have classes on different days will still have the chance to vote, with the likelihood of students on campus being higher.”

Wright said he also believes that the harder the candidates campaign, the better the voter turnout will be.

The elected officers overall are very optimistic about the upcoming year and the executive board that they will be working with.

“I’m very excited about this next year’s executive board,” Webster said. “I feel we have a winning team of outstanding students lined up. I know we are all very excited about our chance to serve the GC&SU community.”

Johnson said she is excited about being elected SGA President, and that she is honored to serve GC&SU’s students.

“I believe that Sara is very motivated and in turn will really work to the benefit of the students here at GC&SU,” current SGA President Loman Martin said. “I hope to see the newly elected officers work as a team and form a sound executive body for SGA.”

The incoming officers said they have a lot of hopes and expectations in mind for the upcoming year.

“I want the students at GC&SU to know that SGA serves them and their interest, and I want to work to get the students informed of our purpose,” Hornsby said.

Webster said he is already thinking about the duties of his position.

“As treasurer, I want to see the right funds allocated to the right student organizations,” Webster said.

Johnson said there is a good bit of anticipation concerning the upcoming senator elections to take place in the fall.

“I’m glad to get confident and intelligent people as executive officers, but the essential part of the organization is the senators,” said Johnson. “I would really love to see a vibrant bunch of students run this fall. I encourage anyone who might be interested in making a difference at GC&SU to run for senate this fall.”

When Martin was asked about his plans for finishing out SGA this school year, he said, “I’m going fishing.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Mar 4 2005. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry