Upcoming student election hopes for increased turnout

UIC will hold its student elections this Wednesday for positions that will be held during the 2008-2009 academic year. Positions include president, vice president, assembly and senate members for Undergraduate Student Government (USG), as well student trustee.

Elections begin on Wednesday at midnight and last through Thursday at 4:00 p.m. Students can vote at various polling sites which will be located in James Stukel Towers, Student Center East and West and the Behavioral Sciences Building. Voting can also be done online by visiting www.uicvote.net.

Many people wonder why they should bother to vote in student elections. With a campus of roughly 19,000 undergraduates, USG members and the student trustee make decisions on behalf of the entire student body.

Decisions include involvement in building renovation plans such as Grant Hall and soon to be Lincoln Hall; and organizing events such as the fall semester's Recess, last week's Second City performance and the upcoming Moving Wall, which will bring a portable version of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to UIC in early September. USG plays an important role in representing the interests of the student body in decisions that the university makes, which is why it is important for students to be involved in the election process.

In years past, student elections have seen relatively low turnout rates. Last years' election saw just under 1,000 students vote ("Young Voter Apathy," Chicago Flame, Nov. 5, 2007). But this year may prove to be different, due in part to the race for student trustee. The trustee serves on the Board of Trustees for UIC and represents the interest of the student body in various decisions involving the allocation of funds.

With three candidates campaigning for the position, including Chris Olson, James Winters and Farooq Abbasi, interest in student elections has been generated, according to acting President Brett Thurman. USG Advisor Linda Deanna, who also serves as the assistant vice chancellor for Student Affairs and the Dean of Students, said "there are more students taking part in the election [this year] than any time before."

There is still room for improvement as far as competition goes, however. Thurman is currently the only person running for president in the election this year, due to the ineligibility of the other student who attempted to oppose Thurman because of academic requirements. And there are currently only two students running for vice president, Manu Raghavan and Rasha Atallah. Despite its best attempts, USG only has 14 people running for an assembly 25.

An increase in competition for these positions won't happen until more students are interested in student elections. Events such as debates, which will take place today in SCE room 713, and subject to move to the Montgomery Ward Lounge, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., will attempt to generate such interest.

But this may prove to be rather menial, as it has been in previous years, when debates have had audiences that ranged from only those running in the election to a maximum of about 20 students.

An earlier election date could generate interest in students and help increase voter turnout. Elections are typically held in mid-April, a month when students are often busy preparing for finals, registering for upcoming semesters, and making plans for summer. An election in February or March, when schedules are a little more open, could boost voter turnout for the elections.

Another element that makes it harder to increase student voter turnout is a lack of information on the candidates. Granted, students can preview the ballot on uicvote.net before they vote, but the site only gives the names of those running and the positions they are running for. If anyone wanted to know anything about the candidate before they vote, they would either have to meet the candidate or seek them out in places such as Facebook and individual websites, where many of the candidates have their platforms displayed.

This year, poster boards will be displayed at polling stations and will provide an overview of each candidate's platform alongside a picture. For those who will vote online, however, a centralized online location, where students could easily see a brief profile on a candidate and any links to other websites, could help voters make a decision when they are voting.

For now, student elections depend entirely upon word of mouth, advertisements and media coverage, all of which have been used in previous elections, and have thus far generated low voter turnout rates. This year, due to increased competition for student trustee, senate and assembly positions, voter turnout could see a boost, but nothing can be determined until after the election takes place.