The election process for SGA Executive Positions is changing this year. The process has just been approved by SGA and also by the Student and Spiritual Life Committee of the University.
The proposed changes come from an awareness of some discontent in the student body regarding the process as well as from considering how other colleges elect their student government representatives. Students have expressed an interest in having more of a say in what the Executive SGA team looks like, and this is their chance to do that.
Being an SGA Executive is a job that requires serious time commitment and effort. The proposed changes would look to lend more credibility to the executive positions beginning in the election process while also potentially including a wider diversity of candidates across the student body.
The proposed election process for President, Social Life, Athletic Relations, and Campus Ministries executives would begin with a nomination ballot similar to those used for electing the Heart Pal court or Who’s The Man participants. Students will be able to view a list of every student eligible to hold a SGA Executive position when they are nominating.
The requirements needed to run for Exec would remain the same. In order to be eligible, students must have a cumulative 2.5 GPA (or that same GPA for the previous two semesters) and have spent two semesters as an SNU student. Prior involvement in SGA is only a requirement for the President. The other executive positions do not require that students have participated in SGA before, although a previous leadership experience at SNU is required. This includes (but is not limited to) having been an RA, Small Group Leader, NSI Mentor, Athletic Team Captain, SACC Officer, LIFE Mentor or a member of Remedy.
The ballot will give all students the chance to anonymously nominate one student for each executive position, along with an extra, undesignated vote. Students will be able to nominate themselves, so students who want to run will not have to depend on someone else to nominate them. Once nominations are closed, the students who have been nominated will have the opportunity to accept or decline becoming a candidate.
Students who accept will then go through a group process where they submit a resume, two references and answer application questions. The group process will evaluate the candidates on a rubric and narrow the field down to four candidates. The exception will be positions that end up with less than four nominations, in which case the group process would be skipped. Individual interviews will take place as the last step before the campaign begins.
Currently, only the Publicity Executive is chosen through an application and interview process, rather than an election. In the new process, the Office Administrator position would be chosen the same way. Instead of nominations, candidates for Office Administrator will submit an application, resume/qualifications and references at the same time as the other candidates. However, the Office Administrator will now go through an interview process and be hired along with the Publicity Executive. If more than three candidates apply for either of these two positions, the Election Board will review their applications and, using a rubric, will advance three on to the final interview round, which will be conducted with the newly elected Executive Team and the Associate Dean for Student Life, Marian Redwine.
These changes have all been approved by the Student & Spiritual Life Committee and will be established this year. These changes signal the efforts SGA is taking to restructure the election system, largely in response to requests made by the student body.
Watch this video for more details:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oleKF_L0UFU&feature=youtu.be
[author image=”http://i2.wp.com/echo.snu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Amy.jpg?resize=150%2C150″ ]Amy Calfy, Content Editor Amy is a junior majoring in English. Although she has written articles for the Echo in the past, this will be her first year to be on the staff. She has previously worked as a tutor in the writing center at SNU. When not studying, Amy enjoys reading, writing creatively, watching movies and spending time with her friends.[/author]