On May 4th, we all (hopefully) cast our ballots for the student council elections, allowing us to participate in the political process of electing leaders who will represent us. However, for most of the elections, particularly the presidential positions, the choice was not so difficult. This was due to the fact that many of the elections were uncontested. As I clicked through my ballot, I saw that all of the candidates were amazing, qualified women, but the lack of competition was strange.
I’ve been trying to understand why so few students have been running for office the past few years since I have been in Stern. One of the most obvious reasons is that being on student council is a huge responsibility that requires dedicating a lot of time and effort. This is true, and the student body should want candidates to recognize this. However, prospective candidates should also recognize that they would be able to find time for student council if it is important to them. The decision to be on student council means that one’s sole focus will be on student council instead of other clubs and activities. I chose not to run for this reason, and I’m sure many others have had the same thought process.
A common explanation for the lack of competition in elections is to write it off to apathy and claim that few students run because they don’t care about making a difference. I don’t sub-scribe to this opinion, and find it dangerous to the overall student body mentality. To me, it is clear that a large proportion of the students here at Stern care about their school and want to improve it. Rather than blaming the students for not caring, it is more productive to think of ways to fix the election system to encourage more students to campaign.
For example, a possible reason that so few students choose to run is the limited amount of time to decide to run and the amount of effort required in this short time to campaign. Election announcements are always at the end of the semester, when everyone is preoccupied with papers and finals. While this can be seen as a test of whether or not a candidate is willing to juggle schoolwork and student government, it also prevents many qualified applicants from even having the time to consider running. There are about two weeks to decide to run and create a campaign, which doesn’t seem like enough time. This short period makes it difficult for the canvassing committee and student life to have ample time to advertise the elections and make sure that people are running.
The responsibilities of student council members must be enumerated clearly so students can recognize the integral role played by all of the councils and view the positions as desirable leadership opportunities. There needs to be more of a focus on how newly elected student council members can effect real change in Stern, rather than just keep events running smoothly. Although limited by higher administrative powers, student council has the ability to create new programs and systems that can improve our university experience. For example, one of the student councils on the men’s campus created a program that allowed students to submit academic concerns to the council that would be conveyed to the administration. Similarly, in Stern, student council members have the capacity to make important changes. Perhaps if this power were advertised, more students would be inspired to run.
For future elections, I would suggest reforming the system. Instead of holding elections at the end of the semester, perhaps they can be held in the beginning of the spring semester, a time where school is less pressured. This would, however, result in a lame duck period for the current president, although I don’t foresee this being an issue. Additionally, more trans-parency from student council would help students see what the role entails in order to draw them in to the position. Lastly, perhaps there can be fewer positions available, so that quali-fied applicants will have to vie for student council spots. It’s possible that the idea of compe-tition will turn some students away because it seems stressful and challenging, but running for student government shouldn’t be easy. With fewer spots, it will be necessary for each candidate to develop a platform, which should be advertised in an organized fashion so vot-ers can have legitimate reasoning with which to back their votes.
Hopefully, reforms can be put into place that will encourage more competition during elec-tions. This will allow students to feel that they are actually participating in the process of choosing the leaders who will represent them, making Stern feel like a more democratic institution.
Regardless, I know that all of the candidates this year will do an incredible job, and they all had very spirited campaigns. I’m consistently impressed with the motivation and quality of the women who do decide to run. Hopefully, future elections will draw more candidates and press them even harder to develop detailed, creative platforms that can reinvent student council.