Though I am currently studying abroad at the London School of Economics and Political Science, as a dedicated and loyal student of the University of Maryland, I felt it important to exercise my right to vote in the SGA elections. However, I was disappointed when I logged onto Testudo and found that not only was each position unopposed, but each candidate was associated with the same party.
Rumors of disapproval with the election board’s conduct of the 2016 Student Government Association elections, including discontent with the rarely-publicized election calendar and election proceedings in general, have reached me across the Atlantic. It’s disappointing that this election does not appear to have proceeded in accordance with the SGA bylaws.
Under section 3B, Election Board Duties and Responsibilities, one such duty is to “widely publicize all election opportunities, information meetings, election dates, and polling locations to the undergraduate student body.” It seems highly doubtful that a Facebook event alone could adequately — much less widely — publicize the election to students or inform them of their ability to run for and get involved in student government proceedings.
Regardless of whether the current SGA or the election board had sufficiently publicized the election or facilitated and encouraged students to run for positions and become involved in the political process here at UMD, it should not be too late for other students to run. Instead, we should reopen nominations.
Reopen nominations, or RON, is a democratic concept that I was largely unfamiliar with until I came to London. Yet, RON regularly appears on the ballot at LSE and at other universities in the U.K. If the majority of students select RON over other candidates, then the position is reopened. When students are dissatisfied with the current pool of candidates, RON’s ability to allow other people to apply to run after the election has commenced is a powerful tool for the student body.
Here in London, controversy surrounded several candidates during LSE’s 2016 Student Union elections. Instead of electing a candidate for general secretary, the majority of students selected “RON,” or re-open nominations. The position was then reopened, other students were able to run and there was higher satisfaction among the student body.
We may not have RON in our SGA bylaws or on our ballots, but the increasing lack of awareness about, access to and involvement in our student government is alarming and demands change. Such change must start now, by reopening nominations.
Sarasvati Spaur is a junior economics and government major currently studying abroad at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She can be reached at s.a.spaur@lse.ac.uk.
