Photo by: David Lorish
The three-day elections for the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) ends tomorrow at 4 p.m with the major issues focusing on transparency, perks for senators and greater inclusivity, and internationalization of the campus.
Junior Dillon Doyle and freshman Megan Marshall running on a joint ticket for president and vice president, respectively, advocate the elimination of the $1,500 scholarships for the three top USG officers and also the elimination of free hockey tickets for all senators, since students have to buy hockey tickets.
The team of junior Jim Francescon and sophomore Felipe Diaz, running on a joint ticket for president and vice president, respectively, feel that the scholarship should be institutionalized, but would not accept it if they are elected. They also advocate the greater integration of international students through mentorship programs as well as the creation of a self-sustaining endowment, which will distribute giveaways that foster and promote DU spirit.
Doyle has been particularly active in sustainability issues and was one of the organizers of the innovative bike-sharing initiative. Francescon has served as the vice president of USG and is the president of the Sigma Chi fraternity and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.
Traditionally, less than 50 percent of eligible undergraduate students vote in the online balloting. To vote, students must go to MyWeb and select surveys. A sample online ballot is included in the Election Guide pullout.S
In addition to the president and vice president elections, student will be voting for 19 other senate positions including representatives from each of the undergraduate classes and curricula in addition to off-campus and on-campus senators representing commuters and students that live on campus.
Both presidential-vp tickets advocate greater transparency through the actions the USG takes. Specifically, the Doyle-Marshall ticket focuses on reducing DU’s carbon footprint by investing the current $90,000 DU spends to purchase energy credits in installing solar panels on the Driscoll Student Center.
Doyle and Marshall also advocate making the Senate more accessible by updating, energizing and expanding the USG website to be more inclusive and responsive to students ideas and concerns.
“I find it unacceptable that we don’t have a website that is newer than three years old,” Doyle said. “I think it is a little ironic that websites for campaigns were able to be thrown up in four days when some people have been on Senate for eight months and we still don’t have a website.”
The Francescon-Diaz ticket also wants to increase student awareness of the USG through an updated website and by hiring a marketing director to promote USG initiatives and programs.
“Our goal is to insure every student knows what USG is,” Francescon said.
Francescon also suggests a separate endowment which would solicit funds to offset the cost of undergraduate RTD passes that DU now purchases with the student activity fee.
A complete guide to candidates and their platforms is in the election insert in this edition of the Clarion.
