The majority of the candidates running for Executive SGA positions will be running unopposed this year. When the Student Development Office announced the candidates on February 3, four positions only had one person in the running, including Vice President (Junior Kirsten North), Director of Publicity (Sophomore Niki Ghosh), Administrative Assistant (Sophomore Libby Nyquist), and Director of Student Events (Sophomore Aaron Hebert).
Madisen Robinson Machorro and Kyera Bryant are running for President. The candidates running for Recreational Life are Jesse Ruiz, Ryan Davis, and Danny Blue.
Lack of participation in student government was evident at a forum held on February 7, where candidates were expected to answer questions about their positions and what they were planning to do if elected. Without a broader selection of student candidates and the majority of candidates running unopposed, the event became more of an introduction to those who will be inevitably elected.
However, several themes that emerged throughout the night were focused on how those running would include more students, how they would get their peers involved, and how they would bring more diversity into student leadership roles.
Sophomore Libby Nyquist says that running unopposed has its good and bad qualities. She says, “It’s good because I can really focus on working with others and forming a solid plan on everything that I want to accomplish, instead of being consumed by campaigning. On the other hand, the fact that there are so few people running also shows that not many people are interested in student government as a whole. That even makes choosing my committee harder.”
Events leading up to elections on the February 17 will help students determine who will take the final positions. Primaries and Speed Candi-dating were held on Monday February 13 during which the candidates will deliver their speeches, and the final elections will be on February 17.