With the Student Union election featuring one official slate on the ballot, many Boston University students and Union leaders said the lack of choice raised questions about student involvement.
Be Unleashed remains the sole slate registered. Union leaders said voter turnout remains a concern, as does the degree to which students’ interests are truly represented in the election.
“I always think that it’s better when an election is contested because it ensures that the will of the student body is accurately reflected,” said Union President Howard Male, a School of Hospitality Administration and School of Management senior.
Union Vice President Alex Staikos, a SMG sophomore, said winning an unopposed election might undermine the legitimacy of the slate due to fewer votes.
“If you’re a student leader that claims to get their power from people voting for you and you don’t get a high voter turnout, then it’s very difficult to go to the administration and say you represent those people,” he said.
Though the one-week voting period was scheduled to start Monday at noon, technical difficulties have delayed ballot casting for a second year in a row, according to a tweet from the Student Elections Commission.
Amanda Peterson, head of SEC, said the website went live Monday morning but featured the candidates from the previous year.
“We’ve been prepping it for a while,” Peterson, a College of Arts and Sciences senior, said. “We crossed all the T’s and dotted all the I’s, but in our final check, it didn’t work.
“I’m not sure why it’s happening again. We thought we had taken every precaution.”
The Dean of Students Office worked with IT to fix the website, Peterson added. In the meantime, SEC decided it would update students via Facebook and Twitter.
“It’s one more day for people to consider their options and learn about their candidates,” she said.
Staikos said members worry an unopposed election would yield lower voter turnouts.
“If people don’t feel like their vote matters because there’s only one slate running, they’re not going to go and take the effort to go on the Student Link and vote,” Staikos said. “I think they should, but, if that urgency isn’t there, I don’t think people will do it.”
Students said contested elections are more beneficial to the BU community.
“I think there’s a little bit more diversity of opinion when there’s more than one group running,” said Caitlin McGuire, a CAS and School of Education junior.
McGuire said a single slate running represents a larger problem with the election.
“A lot of people are involved in stuff outside of the school or they’re really involved in specific extracurricular activities, so being involved in something like Union isn’t something they would think to do,” she said. “There are so many other outlets, people don’t think ‘This is what I want to do.’”
CAS sophomore Matt Zapson said he sees no reason to cast his vote if only one slate is up for the win.
“[I have the] same logic as anyone else would – if they’re unopposed, they’ll win,” Zapson said.
CAS junior Amelia Wisniewski-Barker said though she may support an unopposed election slate, she still would be less likely to vote.
“If I already know they’re going to win, I’m definitely less inclined to actually vote, even though I do support them,” she said.
College of Engineering freshman Joseph Schlatter said low voter turnout would be indicative of few students caring about Union.
“Obviously, there’s general apathy in the student body in the first place,” he said. “They shouldn’t really be concerned about whether voter turnout will be a test for apathy because it’s already present.”
More advertising for the election process as a whole would help the election, even though only one slate is running, Schlatter said.
“As a freshman, I have no idea what’s going on, and the first time I hear about this election is from a poster in the hallway telling me to vote,” he said.
However, Schlatter said he did not think an unopposed election undermines the legitimacy of the winning slate.
“It makes them just as representative because they’re the ones who stepped up to the plate when no one else would,” he said. “They’re the ones who deserve it.”
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