Established 1826 — Oldest College Newspaper West of the Alleghenies

ASG votes to amend elections by-laws

Samantha Callender, Staff Writer

Associated Student Government (ASG) passed legislation Tuesday night that would eliminate the general election contest from the student body election should a candidate receive more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary.

After a brief discussion and some confusion over voting procedure, the amendment to the ASG by-laws passed with only two senators dissenting and not all senators present.

This legislation also requires candidates to run as a part of a political party — with the name of the party and accompanying names on the ballot up to the discretion of the candidate.

In addition, voting stations will be placed around campus so students can vote at convenient locations.

Student Body President Nick Huber said he believes these changes will make future elections easier and beneficial for candidates.

"These changes make things easier for those who win by a landslide, and avoids a lot of redundancy in the stages of the election process," Huber said.

ASG Secretary to the Executive Cabinet Nick Miller also said eliminating a general election should a candidate receive 50 percent of the vote in primary makes sense because, "while looking at the trends, no candidate bounces back from a 50 percent loss. Cutting the general will save candidates time and money"

For the 2012 Student Body Election, the primary election is set to be held on March 22. Should no candidate garner 50 percent of the vote in the primary, the general election will take place March 29.

At the meeting, ASG also passed two resolutions. The first resolution dealt with recommending additional courses for Honors Clusters. This resolution supported changes the University Honors Program has made in course requirements for honors students.

"This gives students an opportunity to study a broader range of topics and get a better feel for their interest, instead of being filtered into a specific major," said ASG Off Campus Senator Kristina Jimenez.

These recommendations are already taking place inside the University Honors Program, and continual research is being to done to improve and address the concern of those within the Honors Cluster.

Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter

Question arose as to why ASG was involved in recommending academics for the Honors Cluster.

"I think we're setting a really weird precedent," Senator Peter Dougherty said. "If these things are already implemented, why are we approving this bill?"  

Other members saw it fitting.

"ASG is here to provide recommendation for and commentary on university policy, and I think us addressing the concerns of the Honors students is part of our job," said Senator Tom Hohman.

Senator Jacob Westfall agreed.

"I think this resolution would allow the Honors students to cover topics/aspects that are outside of their major, yet will still help them in their fields," Westfall said.

"ASG is making a bond between those in the University Honors Program and the students involved in the program, and I think maintaining that bond is important," Jimenez said.

ASG also voted to approve a resolution introduced last week requesting the modification of the roommate search tool. While the tool to select a roommate at random is most commonly used by entering first-years, it was suggested that the option also be marketed towards upperclassmen living in the residence halls.

Miami junior Matt Herbst was elected into the University Senate, filling an open seat on the Senate. Herbst, a resident assistant in Clawson Hall, said he hopes to provide a unique perspective on technology renovation and improve the residence hall experience with his seat on the Senate.

"I'm very familiar with university policies and graduation requirements, and hope to get students better acquainted with those policies," said Herbst.