CSL gets moving on 2012 democratic student elections
Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 11:05AM By Jonathan McFadden
mcfaddenj@mytjnow.com
With too many members jumping ship early Monday night, the Council of Student Leaders lost a 19-member quorum that would have enabled them to vote on and fully approve a lengthy document outlining the procedures and processes for the 2012 student-wide presidential elections.
During their first meeting of the semester, the coalition of student leaders listened as newly appointed Election Commissioner Sydney Evans read from a document presented to CSL members during their annual spring retreat last week.
Members were given the opportunity to tweak some of the language in the proposal, as well as amend some of its sections.
Listed in the document are set rules and procedures student candidates will have to follow if they wish to try their hand at running for student president or vice president.
Eligible candidates must be full time students who have earned a minimum of 15 credit hours, be at least a second-semester freshman and they must be in good academic standing with a 2.75 GPA or higher.
They will have to submit their application along with a leadership portfolio, including an résumé, letter of intent and letter of endorsement from a faculty member.
Since letters of recommendation must remain confidential, members voted to change the requirement to a letter of endorsement, enabling them to post the letters on CSL’s website for students to access.
Faculty advisor to CSL Kristi Schoepfer requested a release be drafted and added to the application materials so professors who write endorsements will understand what they’re being asked to write. They’ll also sign a notification consenting to their letters being published.
“It’s much more helpful if we [faculty] know specifically what we’re asked to do,” said Schoepfer, also an assistant professor of physical education. “The faculty will appreciate receiving that.”
Also included in the regulations are restrictions for campaign funds and a proposal for a tentative election calendar.
As the meeting continued on, members began to ship out until CSL Vice Chair Kaitlin Sapp announced that the assembly just lost their quorum—or a simple majority of members required to be present—to continue with the process and come to a final consensus.
CSL requires that 19 members be present for voting, said CSL Chair Kambrell Garvin.
Since members were unable to vote on Monday, they will have to continue sifting through the document at their next meeting on January 23.
This semester marks the second year the student body has been able to democratically vote for their president and vice-president.
Before, members of CSL voted internally and elected their representatives on the student body’s behalf.
The change came last spring when current CSL Chair Garvin and his running mate, current CSL Vice Chair Sapp, opposed Timothy Kroboth and Cliff Totherow in 10 days of campaigning.
By a 71-vote margin, Garvin and Sapp won their bids for president and vice president, respectively. In a two-day voting period, 832 students cast a ballot online.
Keep checking mytjnow.com for developments on the student-wide elections.
