 "Photo: Jeffrey McWhorter; The Daily Texan")
Sharon Jarvis, an associate communication studies professor wants to know if UT’s Student Government has become more democratic. She said that with twice as many candidates this year as last year, the answer is probably yes.
The professor spoke Tuesday afternoon to the Leadership Education and Progress organization about why so many more students are running for office this year compared to past years and what it can mean for the University’s future.
Jarvis said she believes democracy is measured not only by voter participation, but also by candidate participation.
“I was intrigued by the unprecedented amount of people running,” Jarvis said. “In the past there were 45 to 50 people running. Now we have 95 people running for 40 seats, and a lot of them are first-year students.”
Audience member Amy Hoang, a communication studies freshman, said she believes President Barack Obama has set a precedent and that as the face of leadership becomes younger, “students are figuring out they’re not too young to get involved.”
Student Government presidential candidate Hector Morales, a government senior, said he thinks there are two main reasons why freshmen and sophomores have decided to run for office.
“With the national election and Obama, there are a lot of people who want to keep that energy going,” Morales said. “Also, freshmen realize rising tuition is a real problem that affects them and it’s not going to go away on its own.”
Jarvis and educational administration graduate student Rita Thornton researched possible explanations for the increase in SG candidates. They surveyed 65 students in a political communication workshop for their thoughts on the high candidate turnout.
Part of the explanation could be due to the dismantling of the ticket system, Jarvis said.
Prior to 2008, candidates ran on an organized ticket of 40 people, similar to the party system, and students could vote a straight ticket. Candidates must now run as individuals.
“Now candidates have to work harder to build a network and gain visibility,” Thornton said. “It’s not an easy campaign when one person has to reach out to 50,000.”
A spending cap was another major change in the election process. SG Vice President Frankie Shulkin said he felt pressure to reform election spending and provide an alternative to unopposed tickets.
Last year, Shulkin and SG President Keshav Rajagopalan’s ticket spent $10,000. This year, presidential and vice presidential candidates can run on a shared $900 budget. All other candidates have a spending limit of $300.
“This is a transformative moment,” Jarvis said. “If we can bottle that excitement and participation for the future, it will be better for the University.”
Student Government candidates will debate tonight at 7 p.m. in the University Teaching Center. Online voting takes place March 3-4.
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