"With no opponents in sight, SA Senate election cancelled"

In a move that hasn't been seen in years, the Student Association Senate elections scheduled for this week have been cancelled due to lack of competition.

At the deadline for petitions to run for the Senate, there were 12 open seats and only 12 candidates. In line with SA rules, the students have been automatically appointed to those seats.

Viqar Hussain, member of the UB Voice party and a possible choice for Senate chair, said the cancellation is actually assuring, not discouraging.

"If there's no election, it makes it easier because we know that people trust us," Hussain said. "It says that people aren't running against us because they know we're willing to do the right thing."

Eliot Sherman, another UB Voice party member, said though he's disappointed at the lack of competition, the automatic appointment will make their jobs easier. All but one of the new senators, an independent, are from the UB Voice party.

"It's fun to have a competition. It gets your adrenaline pumping," Sherman said. "You pick your battles, though, and I won't say I'm upset there's no election. It just makes things easier in the end."

Some students may think it's imbalanced to appoint senators without an election, but Sherman said students shouldn't complain if they're not going to get involved.

"Petitions were available to anyone who thought they were qualified. The word was out there, and only a small number of people turned out to run for Senate, so this is just what happened. To anybody who doesn't think it's fair, it's nobody's fault except the students' who didn't come out for the election," Sherman said. "I was an elected senator last year, and this year is much different than last year. Many people ran last year, and the competition was much more intense."

The lack of participation in this year's run might correlate with the general apathy the student body seems to have towards voting, Sherman said.

"Obviously, in past years there's been problems with the number of students coming out to vote," Sherman said. "It might be related, but I can't be sure. I don't know if students generally don't care about SA, or it it's just that they trust everything will run smoothly."

Since the election was cancelled, the Senate is going to hold a meeting at which students can meet the senators and talk about things they'd like to see changed.

"We're trying to get a specific date after getting the official word that we're in, so that we can set up a meeting for students to meet the senators and express any of their concerns," Hussain said. "We are available for the students, we're their voice. That's the whole basis behind the party. We are UB's voice. Without the students, we're nobody. We're here to represent them."

This year, the Senate will be tackling many of the same issues it addressed last year, according to Hussain. It will continue to address the parking issue, try to extend the hours at the Capen library and the Alumni fitness center, and get healthier food options on campus.

"We're trying to make it easier for everyone else," Hussain said. "We probably won't even see the results of our efforts. It's going to help people coming in two years down the line."

Senate elections may be done, having never happened, but students can still be a part of the SA Assembly. Monday is the last day for petitions, according to Assembly Chair Hassan Shibly. Any student can pick up a petition in the SA office and obtain a seat with the required number of signatures.

The Assembly is not yet in session but Shibly said he's excited for the coming year.

"I'm looking forward to it," Shibly said. "Walking around campus, I've seen lots of students filling out petitions, and we've had lots of people in the office expressing an interest."

Once all of the petitions have been collected, the first Assembly meeting will be scheduled. Until then, Shibly said students should hurry to get theirs filled out.

"Being involved in the Assembly is the best way for students to get a direct say in both the SA and the school administration," Shibly said. "It really has an effect on what goes on around campus."

PULL QUOTE: "To anybody who doesn't think it's fair, it's nobody's fault except the students who didn't come out for the election," Sherman said.