Sixty-two slates have declared their intent to seek various elected offices within the ASSU through this year’s spring ballot. The deadline for declaring candidacies and gathering petition signatures passed Sunday evening.
Two of the three declared Executive slates easily passed the 200 signatures required for placement on the spring ballot solely through the online portal. Elizabeth Woodson ’15 and Logan Richard ’15 collected 636 signatures online — the most of any slate — while Lauren Miller ’15 and Geo Saba ’15 collected 363.
Garrett Taylor ’15 and Colton Dempsey ’16, representing the Stanford Chaparral, garnered 88 signatures online. According to Taylor, the slate garnered most of their signatures in physical form.
Of the 31 candidates who declared for the ASSU Undergraduate Senate, 28 received the required 100 signatures online. Eight non-freshman candidates met the requirement, an increase over last year’s two non-freshman candidates and potentially reflective of steps taken by the current Senate — including the removal of the ban on senators studying abroad and the conditional allocation of three Senate seats for upperclassmen — intended to increase the body’s appeal to a more diverse group of candidates.
“I feel like a bunch of sophomores don’t actually represent the entire student body,” said Senate candidate Eric Theis ’16. “[Current Senator] Anna Breed ‘16 has done a wonderful job making sure that reform [to encourage upperclassmen to run] is known. The ability to study abroad makes all the difference to a junior or senior who might not have had the opportunity.”
“I would have run regardless of the amendment,” wrote Senate candidate Victoria Kalumbi ’15 in a statement. “However, I applaud the Senate’s efforts to encourage upperclassmen to run and get involved with the Senate. I think it is important that the composition of Senators reflect the undergraduate population and the experiences and perspectives of students of all classes.”
Two current Senators — Ben Holston ’15 and John-Lancaster Finley ’16 — will seek re-election on the spring ballot. No Senators ran for re-election last year.
Elsewhere on the ballot, 15 graduate students declared their candidacies for the Graduate Student Council. Two of the three declared Senior Class President slates garnered more than the 100 signatures required for placement on the ballot, as did three of the six Junior Class President slates and all four of the Sophomore Class President slates.
This year’s ASSU elections will take place on April 10 and 11.
Andrew Vogeley contributed to this report.