This semester’s Student Union election saw the lowest student body turnout since the spring of 2015, with 9.81% of the student body voting for 12 new senators, 12 new Treasury representatives, and members of the Arts & Sciences Council. 

With the exception of the 14-candidate race for Senate, every position up for election this semester was uncontested. Some positions, such as Arts & Sciences Council vice presidents of academic outreach, public relations, and finance, did not have any candidates run for the office. Election Commissioner, senior Rachel Gwon, attributed decreased turnout to the fact that fewer candidates ran this semester.

“The lower candidate pool this semester likely contributed to the drop,” Gwon wrote in a statement to Student Life. “Moving forward, the Election Commission is collaborating with the [SU] Executive Board to broaden outreach beyond Arts & Sciences and strengthen engagement across all schools.” 

According to junior and Speaker of Senate, Emaan Sayied, five of the 12 eligible senators reran in this semester’s election. Sayied, in a statement to Student Life, said this phenomenon is normal in SU elections.

“I think SU elections [are] very underclassmen-heavy too — a lot of students looking to get involved see it as an interesting space to help improve the student experience,” Sayied wrote. “It’s also just true that a lot of people in SU have multiple commitments and might drop it for timing reasons as well.”

Of the five senators up for election, junior and former senator Jace Slone was not slated to return to his office.

“Ultimately, I think it comes down to me,” Slone wrote in a statement to Student Life. “I didn’t do a great job in convincing students about the problems within SU.”

First-years Meishu Han and Tzipora Guttman led the Senate race with 640 and 622 votes, respectively. 

As for the Treasury race, junior Varun Vadhera, first-year Andrew Hermann, and sophomore Emma Hait took the lead, with Vadhera garnering 662 votes and Hermann and Hait obtaining 659 votes each.

All candidates in the running for Treasury, including eight Treasury representatives, were elected to the body. Junior and Speaker of Treasury Romen Der Manuelian interpreted the low number of candidates as a double-edged sword.

“On one hand, it indicates there is less interest in joining Treasury,” Der Manuelian wrote in a statement to Student Life. “On the other, it shows that Treasury has proven so capable, competent, and effective over the past semester that there isn’t a major push to oust current members of Treasury.” 

This election also passed an amendment that increased Treasury’s oversight of the vice president of finance with 72.24% of 245 votes. Formerly, only the vice president of finance could change rules that govern equitable and consistent allocation of money from Treasury, and under this new amendment, Treasury can alter these guidelines with a two-thirds vote.

Gwon said SU and Election Commission are committed to working together to bolster turnout and student engagement in SU elections in the semesters to come.

“We are continually working to refine outreach strategies and make voting more accessible and visible across campus.”

This Tuesday, there was a constitutional interpretation request regarding the election results. The contents of this request and the outcome will be publicized after the SU Constitutional Council investigates the matter.

Gwon declined to comment on the contents of the constitutional interpretation request.

Senate:

Meishu Han, Tzipora Guttman, Anna Lieberman, Wade Trivisonno, Inti Vega, Jason Tang, Aayan Shehzad, Stella Larson, Hsalaw Soe, Elma Northern, Fadumo Hussein, Saara Engineer

Treasury:

Varun Vadhera, Andrew, Hermann, Emma Hait, Jonathan Lewin, Avery Vail, Molly James, Katelyn Moss, Ally Lee, Clifton Chiang, Katie Cho, Amanda Plaxe, Casey Ference

Arts & Sciences Council:

President: Sonali Sharma

Vice President of Programming: Izyan Ali

Vice President of Administration: Kaylee Baek

Vice President of Academic Outreach: No candidate ran for this position

Vice President of Public Relations: No candidate ran for this position

Vice President of Finance: No candidate ran for this position