The Graduate Student Association's second election for the 2002-03 executive positions, which continues from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. today at Harriman Hall and Thursday in the lobby of the Student Union, had pulled in over 300 votes at the close of the polls Tuesday evening.
This marks the second election for the GSA, as the last election was invalidated due to allegations of voter fraud and other misconduct.
Of last spring's candidates, two are running again - current GSA Vice President Miguel Chacon, presidential candidate, and Shiju David, vice presidential candidate. Vinay Bendre is challenging Chacon, and Shaokang Wang opposes David for the vice presidential slot. Running unopposed for treasurer is Amol Salunkhe.
Bendre, working toward his Masters of Science in industrial engineering, is pushing for a "fair and transparent government in all GSA dealings." He said he promotes business ethics in the midst of American corporate fraud and wants the UB graduate school to produce students who are not only technically savvy but also honest citizens.
Bendre said he feels a crucial improvement yet to be made is more on-campus jobs for graduate students.
Chacon, a PhD student in geography, is campaigning for innovative ways to advertise the GSA to students so as to expand graduate participation. He said "many graduate students work alone in labs," or have families, making it necessary for the GSA to promote a sense of community to its constituents, who come from diverse backgrounds.
David, a graduate student in industrial engineering, plans to improve services offered to students without an increase in activity fees. He wants to offer "citations for students who have achieved excellence," along with grants and cash awards, and wants to increase the number of internships available to graduate students through the Career Planning and Placement Center.
Wang, an economics major, is looking to build a more effective election system and ensure a more equitable distribution of the $39 graduate student activity among GSA clubs. Wang pledged to encourage these clubs to have more activities.
Salunkhe is an industrial engineering student. One item on his agenda is making sure more funds are allocated for student research. Salunkhe said he supports making amendments to the GSA constitution to preserve its transparency.
After the problems with the security of April's online elections, the GSA has opted for paper ballot method. Voters this year have to go through a multi-step process, in which their names are systematically checked off of the list of the graduate student body, and the ballots are signed by a witness.
After this process has been completed, the voter is allowed to vote behind a privacy screen and drop his or her ballot in a locked box.
"We've taken a lot of precautions," said Talukdar.
If problems with fraud could be removed, said Talukdar, online voting would be the more efficient path to take, but until that point, the GSA will continue to use paper ballots.
"Nine-hundred plus students voted (in the last election)," Talukdar said. "We could never have that turnout with a regular election."
At the close of the first day of voting, 311 votes and several absentee ballots had been received.
Results of the election will be announced at 4 p.m. Friday in 330 Student Union. The announcement is open to the public.
For more information on the GSA or the candidates, visit the GSA Web site at http://wings.buffalo.edu/gsa/.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
