Student body elections began Tuesday morning and will last until midnight. Votes can be cast at vote.ncsu.edu.
Students will have the opportunity to elect candidates to the positions of student body president, Student Senate president, senior class president, Union Activities Board president, student centers president, student chief justice, student treasurer, and college senators.
Current Senate President Kelli Rogers, a senior in political science, previously expected this year’s campaign to be especially competitive given the number of candidates running for president and Senate president.
Jay Dawkins, current senior class president and senior in civil engineering, said the campaigns this time around have been especially noticeable with the number of signs.
“There are more signs than before. You can’t walk ten feet without seeing something,” he said. “Students have no excuse for not voting, there’s so much info.”
Dawkins said the majority of the candidates understand the challenges their positions entail and seem prepared.
“Hopefully candidates understand the commitment and I think they do,” he said. “If you can successfully campaign on a campus this size, you’re probably a pretty good leader.”
Dawkins said, however, there have not been many creative campaigning efforts, just more signs. This should not deter people from voting, though.
“The candidate’s success will depend more on their leadership and experience than the particular issues they focus on,” Dawkins said. “With a new chancellor we have an opportunity to take the University in a great direction and it will ride on those elected today.”
Rogers echoed the importance of this round of elections given the presence of a new chancellor.
“This year’s student leaders will be the first that Woodson remembers,” she said. “They will weigh the foundation for the relationship that students will have with this new administration.”
Rogers said while candidates have not tried anything new this year, they have made a significant effort to reach out to students.
“We haven’t seen anything this year we haven’t seen in past years. There’re definitely more signs,” she said. “There has been more of an outreach to Centennial Campus this year than in past years. While candidates may not be on the Brickyard every day, candidates have come up with new ways of meeting students.”
Students have definitely noticed the number of signs scattered on campus representing various campaigns.
Paul Holt, an undeclared freshman, said the signs were the most apparent parts of the campaigns.
“They could have held a rally or something,” he said. “It seems like they’re getting their names out with signs more than their actual platforms.”
Holt said he would vote for the candidate with the most economic campaign.
“Right now we need to be focusing on what economic plans candidates have. It’s vital the student leaders know about how to handle money,” he said.
James Robinson, a sophomore in accounting, said it was very important to vote because of how much power the positions hold.
“I’ll vote just because the student body president makes decisions on what goes on around campus,” he said. “It should not be a popularity contest. It should be based on their ideas for their position.”
Robinson said while he has not seen many candidates around campus, meeting with students is not as important as what they actually do in office.
“I think [student body president] Jim [Ceresnak] has done a lot for the student body with seating and spring break and I didn’t see him a lot during his campaign,” he said. “It’s hard to see all the students on campus.”
Eric Blake, a junior in chemical engineering, said the candidates have done a good job of reaching out to students.
“The campaigns have been really well-advertised,” he said. “You can’t not see a campaign sign and I met some candidates on the Brickyard.”
Blake said the candidates encouraged him to get more information and really seemed to be trying to earn the vote.
“I’ll be voting on who will represent me and my major better,” he said.
Dawkins said it was important to get as many people informed and voting as possible.
“Even huge elections like this boil down to a handful of votes,” he said. “The biggest thing is to talk to candidates. Every time you go to the Brickyard there’s someone there and they’ll talk to anything that moves.”
Rogers said the ability to represent the campus was an important trait to consider.
“Students should vote based on who has the best leadership and ability to connect with a diverse student population,” she said. “The candidate should be comfortable not only representing you, but the entire University.”
