After two separate votes, the Undergraduate Senate decided late Monday night to waive requirements set forth in SG bylaws and allow two students to run for SG executive positions.
Freshman Alex Manzanares will be allowed to run for secretary even though he hasn't completed the required 45 credits. Sophomore David Teslicko will be allowed to run for comptroller despite not having taken the required Financial Accounting and Managerial Accounting classes.
Allowing Manzanares to run will help diversify the secretary candidate pool, but if Teslicko had been prohibited from running, there would be no candidate for comptroller. The vice president race is also uncontested, with only one candidate.
Although there is some necessity for the requirements (a freshman candidate for president is unlikely to have enough leadership experience to be successful in such a position that pays a $10,000 stipend of Student Activity fee money), some SG rules seem arbitrary. A candidate who plans to graduate in 2009 but who came in with enough credits to technically be a member of the class of 2008 shouldn't have to go through a waiver process to run.
Although it's admirable that the SG allowed flexibility on these issues, it's discouraging that such waivers were necessary to have any semblance of a competitive election.
Although it seems like the board of elections has maintained about the same level of publicity for elections as in years past, elections are being held earlier in the semester this year. Also, it seems like the BOE is emphasizing fairness rather than encouraging students to run - a good sign after problems during last year's campaigns, but perhaps not conducive to filling the ticket.
No matter the reason, the SG should take a hard look at why so few people chose to run. Both the vice president and comptroller races are uncontested, and there are only two or three candidates for other positions.
