The Observer, September 7, 2007
Volume XL, Issue 2
First-year USG positions hotly contested
The new semester means changes to Case's student government in the form of 17 open positions in USG, most of which will go to the freshmen.
The positions up for grabs include VP of Information Technology, Class of 2008 secretary, class officers for the Class of 2011, and representatives for each first-year residence hall and commuters.
"Nearly every office is contested," said Election Commissioner Robert Hobohm. "The class officers election has one of the best turnouts I've seen in a long time."
There are 43 students competing for the 17 offices – 27 students are vying for the freshman class officer postions, including 12 running for president.
The VP of Information Technology position is new to the USG election ballot – it was created in the spring and was held in an interim capacity by Andrew Witte, who is also running for the office this fall.
All students on campus will be able to vote for the VP of Information Technology, while only members of the Class of 2008 will be able to vote for their secretary and only first-years will be able to vote for their class officers and their respective residence hall representatives.
Students were able to campaign until Wednesday morning through various methods including chalking and posters. Networking sites like Facebook and HotOrNot were also allowed to be used for campaigning, a change from last year's policy.
"We wanted to try campaigning without Facebook last year, but the elections didn't seem nearly as publicized," said Hobohm. "Facebook is one of the best ways to publicize on campus; we wanted to maximize voter turnout."
Although mass e-mails are against the election bylaws, Facebook campaigning is allowed because students must be contacted on an individual basis to join groups or attend events. A handful of these virtual campaig
Campaign violations are traditionally high among first-year candidates, and this year is no exception. According to USG President Adam Rupe, numerous posting violations occured, including the posting of too many flyers on one surface and chalking under overhangs, though no students had been removed from the election as of Wednesday evening.
The polls are open until 11:59 p.m. tonight for students to vote in the elections. Letters of intent are available on the USG website (usg.cwru.edu), and a complete list of candidates is available on page 5.
