As voting in the 2013 ASSU elections nears an end, the Executive slate of Dan Ashton ’14 and Billy Gallagher ’14 have distanced themselves from an endorsement by The Stanford Review, after the publication of a controversial opinions piece critical of the Students of Color Coalition (SOCC).
As students prepare to vote in this week’s ASSU elections, some voters’ decisions will be informed by candidate endorsements from influential student groups.
A proposal to establish a Muslim cultural resource center on campus has gained fresh attention in recent months, with a group of undergraduate and graduate students reviving a seven-year-old plan in meetings with senior University administrators.
The ASSU Undergraduate Senate voted Tuesday evening against a bill proposed by Students for Palestinian Equal Rights (SPER) urging the Board of Trustees to reconsider investments in companies that they said violate human rights and international law.
In recent years, perhaps no campus group has been more influential in determining the outcome of ASSU elections than the Students of Color Coalition (SOCC), which both endorses candidates and offers campaign assistance.
For most students interested in running for ASSU office, an essential part of the process is seeking endorsements from various on-campus students groups. These student organizations help the candidates they endorse by tapping their large mailing lists, putting up flyers, posting on Facebook and holding events to introduce the candidates to voters.
The Students of Color Coalition (SOCC) hosted an information session Thursday to discuss their endorsement process for ASSU candidates. About 15 attendees, almost entirely freshman, expressed interest in running for the ASSU Undergraduate Senate during the meeting.
More than a week after ASSU election results have been released, we are as relieved as any other students (except perhaps the candidates themselves) to be done with our annual exercise in representative government. Despite our reluctance to protract conversation on such a tired subject, the results of these elections are enormously compelling. In particular, this Board notes the continued dominance of SOCC endorsees, a sharp decline in graduate voter participation and the ambiguity of the ROTC vote. We also urge the next generation of ASSU leaders consider these trends when they enter office, and make good on their campaign promises to improve student engagement and advocacy.