Top SA Candidates Run Unopposed for 2014-2015 Year

For a consecutive year, the  new Student Association President and Vice President will be decided prior to an election.

Without receiving a single vote from the students of SUNY Oswego, Tucker Sholtes will take office as President and Neely Laufer, Vice President of SA on April 1st. The two were the only candidates who decided to run for the top positions, making it two years in a row where a SA President has been chosen without the need for a vote.

Current SA President Anthony Smith, was sworn in last spring after he was the only prospective candidate to fulfill the requirements necessary to be put on the ballot.  Needed requirements could be a reason for the lack of candidates.

Students who wish to run for top positions of the Student Association must first submit a petition of 500 student signatures, supporting their candidacy.  Students have about two weeks to gather these signatures and submit them to SA.  The deadline was extended this year, as no potential Vice President candidates submitted their petitions on time.

In a debate in Johnson Hall, the last SA event prior to elections next week, Sholtes and Laufer addressed the growing issue with the lack of interest amongst the students about SA.  A large amount of underclassmen within SA Senate is a hopeful sign for more competitive elections in the future.  Sholtes, however, says that a large senate now will not necessarily translate to a large senate group in the future, nor will it guarantee a situation like this will not happen again.

[su_quote cite=”Tucker Sholtes”]My worry would be keeping senators interests so they don’t leap frog to go run other student organizations.[/su_quote]

SUNY Oswego students will receive an e-mail Tuesday March 11th with a link to vote.  Although both candidates have already been decided, the ballot will also include a vote on the mandatory SA activity fee that students pay per semester.

Currently, students pay a $97 activity fee that is automatically included in their bill.  Students will vote to raise, lower, or abolish the fee.  Voting ends Wednesday March 12th.

Watch the interview of the future President and Vice President of the Student Association:

[su_youtube url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9hHTNtDXPU” width=”380″ height=”300″]