Seymour and Gray uncontested ASG candidates
By Emily Entress
After running unopposed under the ticket "Seymour GRAYtness," juniors Courtney Seymour and Lindsay Gray were officially announced as the new President and Vice-President on ASG's Executive Board.
Election polls closed at midnight on Tuesday and then the winners were announced for the 2011-2012 Associated Student Government team. Only 436 students voted, approximately 9.5 percent of the undergraduate population.
"We're both very excited to be in this position, we're both very qualified for it, and we're ready to work for what is in the students best interest," commented Seymour.
Their platform is formulated around the "3 S's for Success: Safety, Social Spirit, and Sustainability," with a particular focus on issues surrounding off-campus safety.
"There's no system in place currently for students that are off campus that is even an option for them should they feel uncomfortable," said Gray. "For us, we thought it was lack of education for the freshmen that had just moved off campus and are now sophomores living in the off-campus community."
A recent report presented at the Neighborhood–University Relations Committee meeting stated that there were a higher number of recorded thefts this past fall quarter. To quell these concerns, Gray and Seymour hope to implement an escort service for off-campus students leaving the library after 11pm, as well as to continue safety education for all students.
Another key aspect of their platform continues from Mosier and Nhunguyen Le's term: to bolster school spirit and to increase awareness and attendance of students groups and events around Santa Clara's campus. They hope to use the new Locatelli Center as a hub for tailgates before athletic events.
"We're in a central location in regards to athletics, we're right next to the pool, the soccer stadium and Leavey, and so it would be nice to see what kind of social events we could coordinate in this building to kind of pump up school spirit right before an athletic event to increase attendance," said Gray.
Other tentative plans are to redecorate the Locatelli Center, making it a more comfortable and desirable place for students to hang out.
Gray and Seymour weren't the only unopposed ticket in this year's elections; Kanishk Desai was the only candidate for Senate Chair, after his competitor dropped.
"I think the fact that we were so 100 percent sure that we were (running as a ticket) so early on, made the people who were on the fence about running a little more hesitant or weary," said Seymour.
In Desai's case, three people were initially on the ballot for Senate Chair; one was found ineligible, and the other, Egan, dropped from Senate Chair and was elected for Senior Senate.
"Starting this weekend, I was the only person on the ballot. I don't know why, I don't know what changed their minds," said Desai.
Lauren Germany, Kourtney Wong, Charles Wyman, Danielle Whitbeck and Ben Frazier were elected for the Sophomore Senate; Matt McDonald and Paulina Tran for Junior Senate; Sachit Egan and Vaishali Parekh for Senior Senators.
Since only four juniors and seniors ran for ten senate seats, a total of six class senate seats are vacant.
Seymour will give her official acceptance speech on May 19, so keep an eye out for the school-wide invitation.
Contact Emily Entress at eentress@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4546