Low voter turnout
at SGA polls
By Edmund Setyono
Staff Writer
Only 231 out of 9,000 students participate
in campus election
Aaron Van Audenhove has been elected the new
Student Government Association president with
135 votes, defeating Jessica Allen with 64 votes
and Shane Uys with 29 votes. Three voters abstained,
and Monica Ellington withdrew.
Robert “Bobby” Sheppard, won the
seat for treasurer with 124 votes, over Syed Ahmed,
with 96 votes, Eleven voters abstained.
Naomi Ciira won the parliamentarian race with
136 votes over Natasha Warmsley, with 81 votes.
Fourteen voters abstained.
Elected without opposition were Alison Tucker,
vice president; Uliser Salmeron, secretary; and
Muhammad Ali, historian.
Of more than 9,000 students, only 231 participated.
The voting process ran from Oct. 4 through Oct.
6, and campaigning lasted more than a month. The
vote followed a failed online election in September
that was cancelled for several reasons. According
to outgoing SGA President Dawn Lassiter, voting
access through eCampus increases voter participation.
Lassiter said that eCampus crashes all the time,
and that she plans to talk to J.D. Haight, head
of the information technology department to resolve
the matter.
Another factor for the low voter turnout, she
said, was lack of time. The elected president,
however, did not agree that a longer election
would be better, at least as far the campaign
goes. He said that candidates for this election
are students, and a longer election will disturb
their study.
As the new SGA president, Van Audenhove said
that he will communicate with the other officers
and students to reach a common goal. In the near
future, he plans to work with the IT department
to resolve eCampus once and for all. He said that
this is crucial for North Lake College as it expands.
“I can’t express how important it
is for the students to participate in the student
body election,” said Van Audenhove.
Students voted for a number of reasons. Kerrie
Lepai, North Lake College student and first-time
voter said, “I have fellows in class who
think that they (the candidates) can influence
the school.”
Some students also voted for a specific reason.
Holly Anglin, another student and first-time voter,
hopes that the person she voted for will make
college books cheaper.
The election ended with the swearing-in of new
SGA officers in the cafeteria on Oct. 12.
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