As votes for Student Government elections came in during the last official day of campaigning, students said the lack of visibility on campus likely hurt candidates’ chances to win votes and the number of voters to complete a ballot.
Brian Smith, a sophomore in biology, said SG’s failure to notify students about elections is evidence of the organization’s overall lack of influence on campus.
“[The student government] obviously doesn’t have enough power to seriously affect our lives, otherwise we’d know more about the elections,” Smith said. “They’re almost like figureheads, just looking for something to put on their resumes.”
Brandon Maynard, a senior in biology, echoed Smith’s sentiments.
“I’ve never even noticed a difference in who was president the last four years other than the introduction of debit cards to N.C. State facilities,” Maynard said. “I don’t really see these elections as a chance to make a huge difference.”
Other students like Mark Baeuerle, a sophomore in microbiology, believe candidates need to put more effort into getting their message out and showing they care.
“The fliers I got had nothing about their platform but only said ‘Vote for [blank]’,” Baeuerle said. “Maybe they could actually tell us something about them instead of handing us Tootsie Rolls.”
Maynard said he also would have liked to have seen more of the candidates themselves campaigning.
“I only saw the actual candidates out campaigning one or maybe two days,” Maynard said. “If their whole act of campaigning was putting up signs, that didn’t really tell me a whole lot about their platform or anything else.”
Erika Burger, a senior in statistics, said the candidates’ focus is misplaced.
“I feel like they care about the position but not the student body as a whole,” Burger said. “A lot of people I’ve talked to don’t care about the election and aren’t going to vote anyway, and that could have something to do with the enthusiasm of the candidates.”
One facet of the election that concerned students was that the office of student body treasurer was unopposed.
“I feel like to have a competitive candidate there should be some sort of competition,” Maynard said.
Daniel Marcus, a sophomore in computer engineering, said he thought the hole at the treasurer spot said a lot about student government as a whole.
“Honestly I’m disappointed. [The unopposed treasurer seat] is a display of the perception students have built of our student government and the lack of influence they have over what happens,” Marcus said. “Students don’t see student government as a way to really get involved and make much of a difference.”
But, according to Burger, there are logical reasons for the lack of candidates for treasurer.
“Competition ideally helps get a better candidate, but I understand why fewer people would want that position with all the stress right now,” she said. “Even the past several have stepped down.”
But even with all the pessimism being expressed this year, Marcus said there’s still hope that the right person gets elected and possibly can make positive changes.
“There’s an interesting mix of [candidates] between those who have drive but no experience and those who have the experience and influence but lack the drive,” Marcus said. “It’ll be interesting to see who gets in and whether or not they have the right blend of qualities.”