ASOC holds elections this week

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Author: Donovan Dennis

Associated Students of Occidental College (ASOC) senate elections began late Monday night and will continue through Friday at noon. Many involved in the elections this year see improving voter turnout as a major priority for the election, and ASOC Election coordinator Ben Poor set a goal for 1,000 participating voters, a 100-voter increase from last year’s election.

Economics major Sid Saravat (sophomore), a current class senator, noted the importance of elections in engaging the student body. “Elections give the chance for students to put themselves out there and for students to put out the kind of work they want to do to improve the Occidental community,” Saravat said.

Elected positions currently include ASOC President, four Vice Presidents, six senators (two from each class — two incoming first years will be elected in the fall), two general assembly co-chairs and three honor board jurors.

Voting will continue to be conducted online through the myOxy portal under the student servies tab. This year, however, there will also be additional voting stations on the quad on Wednesday and Thursday to remind students to vote, according to Poor.

Several candidates, if elected, hope to empower their fellow students to take more action in student government. “Generally, I would like to see the students of Occidental College have more opportunity for self-determination,” Physics major and candidate for junior class senator Galen Mack-Crane (sophomore) said. “I think students should be more involved in policy development and with the more personal relationship between students and administration.”

Christopher Weeks (first-year), who is running for sophomore class senator, expressed similar sentiments. “As a Class of 2016 Senator I will work to expand the voice that we, as students, have in our own governance through dialogue with both the faculty and administration,” Weeks said in an email.

Saravat hopes to make focused specifically on the office for which he is running – Vice President of Finance. The VP of Finance directs club funding throughout the year and maintains significant influence over the ASOC’s budget of over $50,000. “Every year the job has improved and changed,” Saravat said. “My goal would be to streamline the [funding] process more.”

Candidates began campaigning last week, with many adding campaign advertisements to their Facebook pages for as profile pictures. Will Huang, current first-year senator and candidate for Vice President of External Affairs, took an even more labor-intensive approach, caucusing for both elections and building a database of his supporters’ email addresses for easier contact.

Candidates will learn if their work has paid off when the results are announced in front of the Cooler on Friday at 12:30 p.m.

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