Student Government Association elections are April 1 and 2.
Unlike last year — when the presidential race was uncontested — we have a competitive race for the SGA presidency. Two candidates — Max Gocala and Michael Slavens — are running to be the leader of Youngstown State University’s student government.
One of these students will directly impact your college experience, overseeing the allocation of funds to student groups, developing student unity events and acting as a liaison between you and the university’s
administration.
We tell the student body every year that SGA elections are important and we’re doing it again.
In November, we published a story about the SGA appropriations process. We heard from a number of students after the story ran that they weren’t happy about what SGA was doing. Statistically, it’s unlikely that the people complaining voted in last year’s elections.
That’s why you need to vote. If you don’t vote, nothing changes.
Do you feel that something on SGA needs to be changed? Then vote.
Do you want to make YSU a better place for future students? Then vote.
Do you want to represent your college, your group, your whatever? Then just vote.
Last year, there were about 400 votes cast in an uncontested presidential race.
There is no reason that this year’s contest can’t get more. We don’t expect every student to go out and vote. That’s unrealistic.
But with voting available through the YSU Portal, along with the traditional booths in Kilcawley Center, there’s no reason that we can’t at the very least double voter turnout.
Ultimately, it’s not up to us to choose the next SGA president, and we can’t physically make you go and vote. But we hope that all of you that get out and vote realize what you’re doing for this university.
And those of you that don’t care enough to vote, then when you run into problems with SGA or take issue with their policies, we hope that you realize you’re part of the problem.
