Most General Studies students hoping to join campus politics will not have a hard time securing positions this year.
The General Studies Student Council released a list of candidates for the upcoming elections last week, and elections will be held online on Thursday and Friday.
This year, the current Vice President of Finance, Jacqueline Thong, is running for president in an uncontested race.
The positions of comptroller, social chair, academic affairs representative, alumni affairs and Center for Career Education representative, Student Services representative, delegate-at-large of finance, senior class vice president, and sophomore class vice president are also uncontested.
While there was also minimal competition for some Engineering Student Council positions, three parties are now dueling for executive board seats on the Columbia College Student Council.
Thong, the presidential candidate, said that her main goals were to better the experience of GS students on campus, address financial aid concerns, and enhance relations with alumni.
“I hope to improve their [GS students’] experience here, and from there, hopefully, that will improve our relationships with alumni when they leave,” Thong said. “A lot of financial aid depends on alumni donations to the school and the endowment.”
Financial aid is a recurring problem that GSSC has sought to address, since GS students, who are typically financially independent, cannot always access the aid that they need at an undergraduate school with a comparatively smaller endowment.
Thong also said that she would like to foster a stronger relationship with and increase collaboration between the four student councils. “We have really lacked in participation this year,” she noted.
Though she said that being the only candidate makes the process somewhat easier, the lack of competition could potentially hurt student participation in elections.
“It’s a nice feeling,” she said. “But on the other hand, the more people run, the more students will get excited about it.”
Her current position, vice president of finance, is one of two that are contested this year, with contenders Daniel Lagana and Chin Kim.
Lagana said that he would like to change the way GSSC spends its money, focusing specifically on the allocation of funds for sponsorships. He also wants to fund more events that are not primarily social. “I think events that are philanthropic, that have an academic and professional bend to them, are what we need to focus on,” he said.
Kim said he wants to take advantage of GS students’ talents and expertise in order to create a better sense of community.
“The school is so diverse that to try to build a sense of community is very difficult,” he said. “I think that’s the challenge … that we face as a school, but I think any challenge can be turned around and utilized to our benefit.”
He added that financial aid at GS overlooks the specific needs of each student.
“The challenge … in allocating financial aid is, how can you assess each individual student?” he said. “We need to work with the administrative side of the school to find a hybrid way that is much better than this uniform way.”
Currently, the position of senior class president has no candidates, but according to the GSSC constitution, Henry Wells, currently running for vice president, could become president if he wins the VP race.
“I’d like to coordinate more with the senior class presidents of the other schools,” Wells said, adding that he hopes to involve GS in some of the events organized by other undergraduate councils.
Kenya Powell, who is currently not on GSSC but is running for sophomore class vice president, said that she wants to work toward eliminating the stigma associated with GS.
“A lot of GS students don’t feel integrated in the student body,” she said. “They’ll graduate and have the degree, but you don’t get the university experience.”
Candidates cited last year’s voter turnout as a sign that the number of students who vote is increasing. Lagana said that last year, GSSC had 300 votes cast, which he said current GSSC president Katherine Edwards determined was a higher per capita turnout compared to CC and SEAS.
But Kim said that more work remains to be done.
“I don’t think we should be complacent,” he said. “As a council, we as students should be more aware and more concerned with elections. … Hopefully, campaigning encourages people to vote.”
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