Voter turnout
Last night, incumbent SGA President Patrick Ronk resecured his seat for the 2015-16 academic year as his Next Party executives and representatives won every contested seat in the governing body’s annual elections. The margins of victory weren’t slim — Ronk topped Voice Party challenger Ori Gutin with 75 percent of the popular vote — but they belied the election’s significance.
Last year, this editorial board slammed the Student Government Association for its inability to offer more than one electoral choice for students; in fact, the body struggled to provide even one eligible candidate in the eventual uncontested election.
This year, Patrick Ronk and Ori Gutin demonstrated to the student body that the SGA is capable of generating self-driven candidates whose distinctive platforms resonate with students across the campus. Through them, a renewed sense of vision and enthusiasm marked a shift from last year’s bleak race.
The SGA’s freshly-demonstrated ability to run competitive, meaningful races is a boon for students after last year’s election proved an embarrassment for an organization responsible for promoting student engagement.
This year’s turnout paralleled that of 2013’s presidential election, a hotly contested affair that pitted incumbent Sam Zwerling against Noah Robinson and fostered a 17.5 percent voter turnout rate.
This year, 4,256 students took an active interest in those who seek to lead them, a much-improved vital sign for the state of campus political activism. Compared with last year’s voter turnout — about 950 students — this editorial board is highly pleased with the progress university students have made in showing support for the SGA.
Fiery social media debates and impassioned campaigning preluded the dramatic uptick in voter turnout, and as the SGA moves forward, it should seek to remain a competitive ground for student and community discussions.
Hopefully, this university’s student leaders will bring about even more competitive elections in years to come. At a university with more than 27,000 undergraduate students, a voter turnout of 4,256 shows there’s still much room for improvement.
While Ronk and his Next Party celebrate their wins from last night, it remains ever-important for university students to turn their gaze to the future. And if this year is any indicator, it’s a future that holds promise for both student leadership and engagement on the campus.
