Deadline approaches for AS election apps

By Ravneet Padda

You don’t have to be a magna cum laude to be an Associated Students President.

A minimum 2.0 grade point average and the will to associate with the student body on campus is all that is required to be eligible for filling out 2004–2005 election petitions, which are due before 5 p.m. on March 26.

No applications have been received yet, said Raylon Maddan, elections commissioner for the organization, but the commission isn’t worried.

“ This happens year after year. Students want to maintain a surprise element so (the other candidates) cannot formulate a campaign strategy based on competition,” he said.

Maddan said petitions are available for the following offices:

• President

• Vice President of Finance

• Eight senators representing various colleges on campus

•Seven senators at large

Work is in full swing to motivate students to fill out petitions for the election, Maddan said.

Maddan and the elections commission sent out detailed e-mails to more than 300 groups and organizations on campus, Thursday and launched an informational Web site Wednesday (www.csusfresno.edu/elections).

Along with motivating students to run for positions, Maddan and his team aim to encourage large numbers of students to cast their votes.

Last year 1,710 students turned out to vote, compared with 886 in 2002 and 861 in 2001.

“ (The low numbers) are a reflection of what is happening in our society,” AS President Neil Gibson said.

Based on the efforts of the new election commission, Gibson said he is hoping for more active student participation this year, and encouraged students to apply for positions.

“ You have to have a desire to make a difference on campus, that’s all that counts,” he said.

Connan Campbell, adviser to the AS, said it wasn’t necessary for an applicant to have previous experience.

“ There have been many individuals that have won the elections with no executive committee experience,” he said.

But students who are elected must adhere to certain guidelines.

The president is paid a stipend of $600 a month and the vice president of finance gets $500 for working a minimum of 15 hours a week, Campbell said.

Senators do not have mandatory hour requirements but must attend weekly senate and committee meetings.

If a senator misses more than three meetings they are removed from office.

Former senator Tim Kuckenbaker disapproved of the system.

“ Many senators just drift through their term without doing any concrete work,” he said.

Campbell agreed some senators do more work than others and discussed a solution.

“ There should probably be some minimum requirements,” he said.

Gibson offered a different opinion.

“ I don’t feel setting mandatory requirements is the answer,” he said. “Motivating people is more effective.”

He agreed that in previous years senators were lax but stated things were different this year.

“ This year everybody worked very hard,” he said.

“ We set an expectation of five hours of work this year,” he said, specifying that it was not a requirement.

Maria Sofia Corona, senator for the College of Social Sciences, is working on a project that will set more concrete requirements for senators.

“ More than peer pressure, there are actually not many (checks),” Corona said, talking about checks imposed on senators who do not work productively.

She also discussed what to expect during a term as a senator.

“ (The petitioners) should expect to be committed, offer fresh ideas, be able to stand for those ideas and truly incorporate the student perspective,” Corona said.

The Associated Student Elections are scheduled for April 21 and 22.