The Student Government Association has made changes in their bylaws that will move student elections to the first week in April in hopes of creating a smooth transition between administrations.
Before the change, student elections were held for two days during the week before finals in the spring semester.
The modification of the by-laws to change the elections schedule was primarily to give the incoming administration an opportunity to learn the aspects of their job responsibilities and to receive direct feedback and critiques from the incumbent administration.
“There’s so much to learn,” said Dean of Students Don Turney. In addition, Turney said that the process of learning the positions of government took sometimes as long as three to four months before meetings and plans began to fall into place. He has strong feelings that the new method will serve Bakersfield College students’ best interests.
SGA Vice President Prayas Patel agrees with Turney and recalled that a majority of the fall semester was spent just learning how to perform his job. With the new election system, the next administration should “hit the ground running,” Patel said.
According to Ash West, an honorary adviser to the SGA, the earlier election date will “allow for a longer transition period,” and added, “[the SGA] will not be so lost when they take office.”
The election duration will also be held differently than in previous years. Instead of designating two days during the week for students to vote, the new process will be carried out over four days.
Candidates running for executive positions were required to obtain 50 valid student signatures, and candidates running for representative positions were required to obtain 25 valid student signatures. All candidates were required to submit an elections statement, fill out a brief questionnaire and have a grade point average above 2.0.
“Running is an experience in itself,” said West. West mentioned that students who plan on running should be motivated and have time management skills as well as an ambition to make positive changes around the BC campus.
Elections will be held April 4-7 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the foyer of Campus Center.
Campaigning began on March 28.