As SGA candidates embark on their last-ditch efforts to recruit voters, they face one obstacle more formidable than all of their opponents — student apathy.
The Student Government Association is tasked with a slew of duties: It finances student groups; it lobbies lobby in Annapolis; in many cases, it serves as an important conduit between the administration and the student body. But some students couldn’t seem to care less.
Voter participation in SGA elections has hovered between 15 percent and 22 percent for the past five years. Students offer a range of explanations.
“I just don’t really care, to be honest,” sophomore biology major Sarah McKay said. “They come to my room, and they knock on my door, and they tell me their spiel, but it doesn’t really — it applies to me, but I don’t really care either way who wins. I don’t think it will really change much.”
Others students point out that the candidates’ visibility has been minimal and platform information even less so.
“The most that I’ve seen from the parties are on the sidewalk, and I got a Facebook message the other day. Random,” freshman English major Shirelle Ellis said. “But that’s about it. … I actually was interested in voting, but I don’t even know where to find the information about the parties.”
Each party has a website and Facebook group. For sophomore engineering major Laura Stayman, that information came right to her room. The Your Party lobbied her dorm, but she said that was the extent of her election knowledge.
“I don’t know where you vote; I didn’t know when the election was,” she said.
Then there are those who are on the fence.
“Maybe,” said junior engineering major Joseph Pieterzak, referring to his prospects of voting.
His reason?
“I know a few people who are in each party,” he said.
Pieterzak added that if not for the personal connections, he’d most likely be abstaining.
“I feel like the main thing they do is allocation of SGA funds, so to me, that doesn’t really matter because every student group I belong to gets appropriate funds,” he said. “I really don’t see anything else they do, personally.”
For some students who plan to vote, their choices don’t hinge much on platform policies or issues.
Junior Persian studies major Dan Weininger said he’s voting because he wants to ensure fair funding for student groups.
“Issues like supporting the Purple Line — I don’t think [the SGA] has anything of value to add or do,” he said. “I’m involved with a number of student groups, and I feel like it’s important that they receive appropriate funding. That’s what SGA does.”
Based on his analysis of SKY presidential candidate Andrew Steinberg’s performance as vice president of finance this year, Weininger said he deserves to step up to the SGA’s top position.
“He seems pretty serious about the job,” Weininger said.
But as for issues beyond financing, Weininger said the SGA has no impact.
Freshman English major Katie Wiggins said it was the SKY Party’s logo — the T-shirt worn by the candidate she spoke with yesterday still bore an extra “Y” — that earned her vote.
Senior Arabic studies major Monica Kamen, who voted for the STARE candidates, said she became aware of their activism last semester after Cordell Black was dismissed from the position of associate provost for equity and diversity. Still, she said she’s skeptical of the results the SGA, under the leadership of any party, can deliver.
“I don’t think they necessarily have much of an impact on what goes on at the university, but I think it’s still worth trying,” Kamen said.”
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