It is that time of year again - Student Association elections are quickly approaching and prospective candidates for SA's executive board and the New York State Student Assembly delegation have had a busy week, collecting petition signatures and gaining student support.
As of Thursday evening, two parties had announced candidacy: the Results Party and the UB Students Party. For the UB Students Party, Jason Litwak is running for president, Michael Sciortino for vice president, Mark Leach for treasurer and Melinda Mulwaka, Vinny Rondinelli and Carrie McElroy for NYSSA.
Results is led by presidential incumbent Christian Oliver, with Jennifer Brace running for vice president, Naazli Ahmed for treasurer and Katie Walsh, Yesenia Diaz and Anthony Burgio seeking the three NYSSA delegate positions.
Gregory Haynes is running for the position of NYSSA delegate independent of a party.
The election, to be held March 18-20 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Student Union lobby, is open to all undergraduate students in good academic standing. SA Vice President Joshua Korman said the election Web site received over 2,000 hits in the 48 hours before Wednesday morning.
The Results Party is running on its record as SA old-timers with experience in various areas of student government. Oliver and Ahmed are both seeking re-election to their current positions while NYSSA delegate Jennifer Brace is running for an e-board position.
Melissa Blasch, a freshman undecided major, said she feels e-board members "should have been previously involved in SA" because it "just makes more sense."
"They definitely have to be honest and able to handle being in charge," she said.
Korman agreed, saying that in order for a candidate to be considered "qualified" he or she "should first work in the SA office in some capacity for a year or two" to obtain the "necessary background knowledge to be able to run it."
"In my experience, UB students place a high value on what a candidate has accomplished in past positions," said Korman. "However, to ultimately succeed within the organization, they must have good ideas and be able to articulate them well to other people."
The UB Students Party's slogan is "Giving SA Back to the Students." The candidates are more or less SA outsiders who hope to infuse fresh ideas into the organization.
Adam Baviford, a double major in biology and business, said it will take more than smooth talking to win his vote.
"We need people who aren't just personable and outgoing and go out just to find out what everyone thinks," said Baviford. "We need people who are actually going to make noticeable and marked differences in campus life - no one that's 'just talk,' but people who will actually go out and do what they say they'll do."
Monica Follette, a sophomore English major, is seeking candidates who will appeal to students from all walks of life.
"We're such a diverse school with so many different interests, that we need a group of people who are multi-faceted and can keep other people's interests in mind, even if they're not their own," Follette explained.
Korman said it would be wise for candidates to run with a cooperative, well-thought-out party because the duties of each officer change annually with the instatement of new candidates. He noted that when he was running with last year's incarnation of the Results Party, who swept all six positions last year, they had to begin work on their new administration directly after the end of the election.
"That's the value to voting by party and I beg people as responsible voters to talk to at least one candidate from each party before making a decision," said Korman.
Throughout next week, candidates will be available in the Student Union lobby to campaign and answer student questions. In addition, SA will hold nightly endorsement meetings open to students.
"It's a great chance to hear [the candidates] speak," said Korman.
