by Lola Garcia
The applications are in, and the candidates for next year’s SGA President and Vice President are in full campaign mode.
Five students are making the run for SGA President and two for Vice President/President of Academic Affairs. The first round of elections will be next Wednesday.
Current Administrative Coordinator Andy Grimm ’05 and Joint Board Senator Bruce Barnum ‘05 are facing off for the position of Vice President. With only two candidates, the Vice Presidential campaign should only face one round of voting.
The race for the President, however, will be more complicated, with Mark Henry ’05, Matt Johnshoy ‘06, Thomas Alexander ‘05, Marko Mircetic ‘05 and Chad Marzen ‘05 placing their hats in the ring. Johnshoy is the Joint Board Senator for East Campus, Alexander for off –campus housing, and Mircetic currently represents Smith and Younker. Marzen represented Smith last semester as a senator. Henry, the only candidate not serving on Joint Board this year, is the student-at-large representative on the Development Committee.
According to the SGA bylaws, a candidate must garner 50 percent of a campus-wide vote to be elected to office. With such a large candidate pool, the presidential election is likely to go into a run off.
But it is more than just the size that makes this year’s candidate pool interesting. Last year the run for president came down to two women, then Senator Jess Enns ‘04 and then Administrative Coordinator Liz Allan ‘04. Likewise, the vice presidential election pitted then Vice President Devan McGranahan ‘04 against student-at-large Danijela Gazibara ‘04. The complete lack of women in this year’s candidate pool is a significant shift.
As Statements of Intent began going up in bathrooms, the candidates faced each other Tuesday in the first of two debates before the first round of voting. At the debate, questions addressed issues from faculty diversity to self-governance. One of the hottest topics of the afternoon was the recent drug arrest and citations in Younker Hall, but questions also touched on more basic issues of class size and administrative efficiency.
The Tuesday debate attracted only about 25 students. Jacob Cram ‘06, the current senator serving on the elections committee, believed the low turnout was a result of a lack of publicity. The last debate before the first round of elections will be this Monday at 8 p.m. in the North Lounge.
Thomas Alexander ’05: “With immense administrative experience behind me and an eye on issues that matter, like financial aid, dining, housing, diversity and keeping students in touch with SGA, I respectfully announce my candidacy for SGA president.”
Mark Henry ‘05: “We need a president who is in touch with student life and who understands which battles to pick with the administration; as a student, an athlete, a musician and an active member of the Grinnell community, I am capable of being a strong voice for this campus.”
Matt Johnshoy ‘06: “If self-governance is to survive, Joint Board and the student government need to be more accessible to students, student groups and student issues.”
Chad Marzen ‘05: “I'm running for SGA President because I want to reenergize self-governance and interest in student government and rekindle the sense of community that is the proud hallmark of Grinnell College.”
Marko Mircetic ‘05: “I am committed to augmenting student influence at Grinnell College and will not cease working to ensure that you are heard.”
Bruce Barnum ‘05: “As President of Academic Affairs I will pursue a set of strong polices to improve and expand our tenure-track faculty, pay junior faculty better and provide more diversity and resources to all departments.”
Andy Grimm ‘05: “As the most experienced and knowledgeable candidate and a current SGA cabinet member, I have a strong desire to continue the important work that has already begun while energetically tackling issues that develop next year.”
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