As College Park residents are gearing up for November’s election, student leaders are working to expand the horizons of the university bubble and engage the campus in this year’s race.
On-campus residents often think university groups, such as the Department of Resident Life, are the only organizations that make decisions affecting students, said Student Government President Kaiyi Xie. But what most don’t know, according to Xie, is that the College Park City Council wields power over issues close to students’ hearts — including liquor licenses, bike paths and rent control — that are out of the university’s grasp.
“These are the directly elected leaders that everyone living in College Park can vote for. …This directly impacts their lives,” Xie said. “It’s about making sure [elected officials] pay attention to student concerns and not treat us as a blight on College Park, but develop more of a symbiotic relationship.”
And voting in the Nov. 8 election is the key to establishing closer tudent-city ties, said student leaders.
As of Thursday morning, about 13 residents have signed out a “council packet” to run for mayoror for a council seat, according to city documents. To become official candidates, they must acquire 25 signatures from residents in their respective districts and gain the Board of Elections supervisors’ approval.
Thus far, the board has only approved one candidate — District 4 incumbent Denise Mitchell — to participate in the election. She is one of six incumbents who have picked up a packet, along with Christine Nagle and Patrick Wojahn of District 1, Stephanie Stullich of District 3, Marcus Afzali of District 4 and Mayor Andy Fellows.
Of the other 13 residents, three ran and lost in the 2009 election — former District 4 Councilwoman Mary Cook, Bob Weber from District 2 and Bob McCeney from District 3.
For now, when residents pick up packets, they can declare if they want to run for mayor, a council seat or both. Three residents have indicated they may run for mayor; three for District 1 councilmember; three for District 3 and three for District 4.
Only about 130 students voted last election — a number student leaders said they want to drastically increase. Xie said he plans to tell students where to vote and would like to set up student transportation to city polling sites, similar to past years.
In addition, student leaders are hammering out the issues they want to quiz candidates about this election.
Graduate Student Government Association President Anna Bedford said adding more bike routes to the city would both promote sustainability and make it easier for graduate students to commute. She said the city needs to prioritize making the campus more accessible, which will allow graduate students to feel at home.
“It’s nice to have an integrated town that’s friendly to students, especially grad students, who are around for a long time,” she said.
Some students, such as sophomore architecture major Evan Schroeder, said they’re planning to vote if polling sites are conveniently located.
“I feel like it has to be brought [to us],” he said.
kirkwood at umdbk dot com
