BSU Elections Committee Gears Up for Spring 2010 Campaign

By Ashonda Bethea-Ruth

Bowie State University's Elections Committee held its annual elections interest meeting Feb. 23 in the Thurgood Marshall Library Special Collections Room for potential candidates for  BSU's Student Government Association and Bowie Court.

This meeting briefed potential candidates on available positions, areas of responsibility, eligibility and the application process.

Every year, there are new elections held in the spring semester for SGA, Mr. and Miss Bowie and court as well as fall semester when incoming freshmen vote for their class king, queen and court.

The meeting was led by Alicia Carter, elections chair, who opened with a PowerPoint of the many roles and duties of the candidates. 

Carter went through each position, naming their duties, and the requirements for each. Many of the requirements were the same, such as having a grade point average of 2.7 with at least 45 credit hours, and no judiciary infractions. The application processes for many of the positions were also the same, except for the positions of SGA president, vice president, and Mr. and Miss. BSU.

The process for these applications can be quite tedious, especially for Mr. and Miss BSU. Candidates seeking these positions must submit an essay, campaign platform, photograph, resume, community service proposal and attend a mandatory retreat held March 6-8. The submissions do not automatically guarantee that their names will appear on the ballot.

SGA president and vice president, though not as strenuous, is different as well, due to the fact that they must run as a team. Both must send in a resume, recommendations, an essay and a photograph of the two potential candidates together.

When asked how relevant the elections were to the BSU community, current SGA vice president Nayonna Wright stated, "I think I the students underestimate SGA's power...administrators, faculty, and staff ask for our input."

Potential candidate junior Kevin Thomas said that the elections increase student involvement and "brings promise to a new fresh SGA."

The elections committee has a big role in the entire elections process. Along with Carter, the committee consists of students, Tiara Keyes, Tarientha Easley, Fiona Williams, Brittany Summers, Taylor Greene and Tiffany Jones.  The committee designs the applications and election guidelines. The committee is also in charge of making sure election rules are followed by the campaign managers and that each candidate plays fair.