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Deadline is April 15 for ASG presidential candidates
The Advocate
Students interested in running for Associated Student Government president and vice president need to turn in their candidacy packets to Student Events & Center Coordinator Meadow McWhorter in the College Center by noon April 15.
Voting begins May 9 at 12:01 a.m. and ends May 12 at 11:59 p.m. Students vote online at mhcc.edu/vote.
ASG will be hold a second ASMHCC Campaign Informational meeting in the Council Chambers from 3-4 p.m. Monday.
"I want to see somebody who sticks up for their beliefs," said ASG President Larry Collins-Morgan of the search for his replacement.
"Someone who is more interested in student involvement than their approval rating. Someone who has conviction, someone who does what they say," he said.
Student Events & Center coordinator Meadow McWhorter said, "Once they (president and vice president) are elected, we will begin the hiring process for remaining positions in student government."
Potential candidates seeking office must have a minimum of six credits at MHCC, a cumulative GPA of 2.5 before elections and have collected 200 signatures as well as having filed the candidacy packet in order to make the ballot.
Collins-Morgan said, "There are one-to-three weeks of campaigning, debates and meet-and-greets with ASG leaders and then Rock the Vote."
Rock the Vote is an event held in the Vista Dining Center that features free food, live music, and speakers who are geared toward raising voter awareness.
"We have to market the candidates, we need substantial platforms. We need candidates worth voting for," he added.
McWhorter said Rock the Vote is used to make the candidates visible to the MHCC community, collaboration between ASG and the election committee and an opportunity for all tickets to participate.
According to Collins-Morgan, after last year's landmark voter turnout for ASG elections, with more students voting than in previous years, this year ASG is looking to recreate the same kind of buzz for the yet-to-be-decided candidates.
"Granted, the margin of victory in U of O's election last year was higher than our overall turnout," said Collins-Morgan. "In the polling data I've seen, class reps are important, but within five minutes of class starting, most students are comatose. So we'll do Rock The Vote and free food in Vista."
Collins-Morgan said, "It was put on by Jon (Francis) and myself last year and it was a success. We have pizza, music and places to sign up and we got 150-250 signatures.
"This year, we said let's have it be bipartisan, put on by ASG," he added. "It's more predicated on getting students involved and vote, but not for superficial reasons. We want them to vote informed."
Once elected, a representative from the Office of Student Life will check the officer's GPA and credit hour status quarterly. Students are also not allowed to exceed a 9-month term limit.
"I will say, this year we are working with American Student Government Association (ASGA) so we can have the best campaign possible, with as many students involved as possible," said Collins-Morgan.
The services from ASGA will include sending in polling results and pulling from other elections in other schools across the country to see what went well in other elections.
"I'm going to be working with candidates on budget information so they can have speaking points during the debate," said Collins-Morgan.
For any students interested in running, email [email protected] or [email protected] for a packet or see the ASG elections table in the Main Mall with varying tabling times.
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