By Jack Armstrong News Editor
The Associated Students of Western Oregon University have announced the results of their general election for the upcoming 2015-2016 academic year.
The election was originally slated to last one week from April 20 to April 24. The polls were extended to May 1 when student turn out threatened the legality of the election results.
“In order for the election to be valid, we need 10 percent of the student population to vote,” said Alyssa Little, a third year Community Health major. “As of Friday (April 24), we didn’t have the 10 percent.”
Many students expressed a lack of interest in the outcome of the elections. Some felt that they didn’t have enough access to information concerning the candidates and the bills being considered.
One hindrance to voting this year, according to some students, was the new utilization of the OrgSync system to process and count votes.
“It was really difficult to get to the voting page, it is kind of a doozy to find,” said Kyler Freilinger, a first year integrated science and teaching major.
Even candidates suggested that OrgSync had contributed to the delay.
“I honestly think that elections were extended due to the difficulty of voting through OrgSync,” said Alyssa Brooke Chiampi. Chiampi was running for ASWOU president against Corbin Garner.
When students were able to vote, they were faced with a decision on several hotly contested bills, most specifically the divisive Bill 4.15.
Bill 4.15 sought to seek student opinion concerning Western’s membership to the Oregon Student Association, a group that represents Oregon colleges and universities, as a voice in the Salem legislature. Many student groups on campus formed to support both arguments for and against maintaining membership.
Results of the election are listed below, in addition to being posted on the door of the ASWOU offices in Werner University Center. For more information concerning the election process, contact ASWOU at 503-838-8553.
