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With the Student Government Association elections coming to an end, students and other members of the university community have taken note of the absence of a write-in option on the election ballot and have met it with mixed feelings.
The ballot this year changed from past years with a missing write-in option because of a new ballot redesign. Rather than a list of names and a check box, the new ballot had pictures of the candidates and the option to check a box. Aaron Bock, chief justice for the SGA, said that the addition of a write-in option would only make the ballot look confusing.
"We wanted to make it an easy ballot," Bock said.
Bock went on to say that when the ballot was made through www.survey.vt.edu, the write-in option was consciously not included.
However, Billy Brubaker, chief justice of the undergraduate honor system, and wa junior civil engineering major, said that when he called the SGA office to address the issue after he saw the ballot, the person he spoke to said that it was a mistake and it was simply an oversight. Brubaker paraphrased what the person told him, saying it was an "honest mistake."
In addition, Bock claimed that he and the co-chief justice authorized this amendment to the ballot, which must be done according to the SGA's constitution. If this requirement wasn't met prior to the elections the election would be considered fraudulent.
Nevertheless, Brubaker stated that when he had called the SGA no one was available to speak and no one knew what the policy was. He also said there were no copies of the constitution in the office for reference.
"I've tried to get in contact with their chief justice and nobody had access to a current constitution," Brubaker said.
Brubaker said that he was told there are only four people in the SGA who have access to the constitution, and those four people only have it on their personal computers. These include the chief justice, the associate chief justice, and the speakers of the house and senate.
Bock said traditionally this space on the ballot is reserved for "Mickey Mouse" or some other joke and that the elimination of this space would allow for a more effective election. Also, it would allow for someone who went through the process to be elected to win the election.
"This was more accurate," Bock said. "To win you have to get petitions signed and go through a specific process."
Students so far have met this with opposing thoughts.
"I think it's better if they have the write-in because it allows for us to give our opinions," said Qi Li, a junior computer engineering major.
Alexander Rawlef, a sophomore political studies and history major, is also disappointed in the omission.
"I'm just so upset," he said. "It seems like it is just a crooked scheme to keep whoever they want in there."
However, Sarah Saville, a senior interdisciplinary studies major, said that those who want to run should do it properly.
"I'm assuming there was a reason and that if someone was committed enough to run, they will follow the proper process," she said.
Furthermore, one student, Heidi Kleiner a junior interdisciplinary studies major, had no opinion at all.
"It doesn't make a difference to me," she said.
SGA elections ended last night at 11:59 p.m. Results will be announced on Tuesday.
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Let's see what's wrong with this article: 1. Why is the honor system doing the CT's research for them? 2. Who did they speak to when the called the SGA office, if they really spoke to anyone? 3. The constitution is available to everyone. Who ever said it wasn't either lied or is entirely ignorant. I think this is just another example of how the CT fails to research their article. Bravo!
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Brubaker find something better to do with your time.
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The Honor System didn't do anything with this. Brubaker just happens to be their Chief Justice as well. I also went looking for a copy of their constitution, and after stopping by the SGA office twice, no one was able to give it to me, and I was promised on several occasions that it would be posted online, and as I write this, it still isn't there. I think this article is more addressing the hidden nature of what SGA really does for students rather than the issue of a missing write-in field.
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Who the hell cares who brought this up... chief justice of whatever doesnt freakin matter, its getting whatever the truth is about whats going on. And obviously if they said they called the place a few times, they must have kept getting the same answer...furthermore if they said they couldnt get the constitution, then they must not have gotten the constituion..haha i mean what the hell? You cant just say something didnt happen when it did.
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Just an example of how the students do not care about the sga and will complain no matter what. You want the sga to change you have to join it and voice your opinion.
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No SGA VOTER that is very very very wrong. We DON'T have to join it and voice our opinion. We have to be allowed to elect who we want to REPRESENT us. By not having a write in you probably lost a LOT of voters who didn't want either of the parties. If you go by your logic we would have to join our government to let it know what we want. That is NOT what freedom of speech is about.
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I think that this was a flaw, but I think that it eliminates some "joke" answers as well. If you did not want a representative, you could have abstained from voting for that part. SGA Does a lot for students - you'd be surprised if you actually did some research. THE Forum was just the other day, which was a chance for people that felt like a minority to express concern. IT is so funny to hear people itch and moan about what SGA doesn't do when you don't even come to the forums to voice concerns, nor do many of you vote or adequately do your research - it really sickens me.
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But in an election, Your Voice, a voter shouldn't have to be faced with a decisions of 'Jones, Smith, or Nobody.' I mean, what it most of the campus community (the 'electorate') abstained from voting? In that case, no candidate would recieve a clear majority of the votes - and the winner would be the one with a plurality. So faced with a choice between two candidates, the one who wins would be the one who collected the most non-abstentions. Consequently, you will have disenfranchised over half the campus. This is why we have write-ins - while the write-in candidates certainly will not win, it still offers each voter a voice of change - the abstention process does not account for this, and is a gross miscarriage of justice.
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if you are agreeing a write-in candidate will not win, how exactly do you expect your voice to be heard? you think by typing a name in a box and clicking submit that your voice is suddenly heard? haha, are you on crack or are you just that ignorant?
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The point isn't always about voting for the winner - the principle here is that people ought always to be able to vote for the person whom they feel is best suited for the job. If none of the 'primary' candidates are found to be competent, it is a form of disenfranchisement to explicitly require an abstention, since it creates a de facto required vote - either vote for these candidates, or do not vote at all.
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This would have been a great year to have a write-in candidate considering the other options we had.. Mickey Mouse all the way!
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Aaron Bock, without a doubt, made a good decision by not allowing write-ins. You could call this a form of disenfranchisement, sure, but the truth is that most jurisdictions require a write-in to register as a candidate before the election, similar to the registration required to run here, hmmmmm. The only reason people vote for write-ins is so that they don't feel responsible for the potential costly actions of the elected official. Somehow, by not voting for them, they automatically reserve the right to complain. If you truly wanted to vote for someone, you should've encouraged them to undergo the same tiring process that the other candidates did instead of crying about your lack of choice. And to whoever said: "I think this article is more addressing the hidden nature of what SGA really does for students," you must be blind! Just in this month alone, the SGA will have held THE Forum, which someone already explained the success of; Relay for Life, which raises more money for cancer research than any other college in the country; The Big Event, which coordinates over 3000 students to take part in more than 450 service projects around the community; and lastly, a number of events in remembrance of April 16th. So what is it that the SGA does? I guess not that much...
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If you read the By-Laws of SGA, a write-in doesn't have to meet the requirements because they have been chosen by the Student Body, this has nothing to do with whether or not they have registered, this has to do with taking the choice away from students. As for what SGA does for students, I see only one thing that truly supports the entire student body at tech, and that is the 16th memorial events. Everything else on your list, although great charities, help the community, not the student body. That means that a chunk of your student activities fee goes to a third party, as deemed by a group of people that you can't choose on your own. Secondly, Aaron Bock cannot make the decision on his own as to whether or no write-ins should be allowed, it is a committee decision (4 person committee). Lastly, why would their be a provision in the SGA By-Laws explicitly for write-in votes, if they're just so you don't feel responsible? SGA admitted that they made a mistake, and didn't fix it, which is in direct violation of their constitution by "willfully neglecting their duties†(Article 6, Section 3). Whether or not SGA does anything or not, doesn't make them less responsible to the student body.
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How about student representation on over 30 university commissions and committees where they represent student voice in matters of university policies? How about facilitating forums between the folks in student affairs to lobby them for making changes that students want? How about one of the largest school spirit programs run by a student organization in this nation? Providing an opportunity for community service isn't doing the students a service either, right? Its funny that with all of your criticism for what SGA doesn't do, we are consistently considered amongst our peers to be one of the top college SGAs in the nation. Obviously, you have had no interaction with the excellent students in SGA who spend countless VOLUNTEER hours to better their campus.
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