Zachary Ament and Michael Borzumate won the primary elections for President of the Union on Monday with Ament receiving 985 votes and Borzumate 596 votes. Eric Azares and Eric Griffith lost with 542 and 507 votes respectively.
The Sunday before the elections with a sparse audience of 25 students, the primary debates were held for the candidates for Grand Marshal and President of the Union in the McNeil Room of the Rensselaer Union. The debate was moderated by Dean of Students Mark Smith.
GM candidate Chris Mather and PU candidates Ament, Azares, Borzumate, and Griffith took the stage to address the concerns of the student body and answer questions. From budgeting to food menu selections, and from the tuition increase to marketing strategies, the candidates tried to show they had what it takes to hold their prospective positions.
Most of the questions posed to them were ones that have come up repeatedly during previous years, and the replies invariably told the same answer. “The debates lacked fire. The candidates agreed on most of the issues,” said current GM Gil Valadez.
All five of the candidates noted during the debates that widespread student apathy and a view that student government should have stronger relations and clout with the administration were on top of their agendas for next year. “We need to keep open venues between us and the administration,” said Mather.
They all stressed that creating a strong student government that communicates effectively with students would serve to make students more content about life at Rensselaer. “We need to increase communications between the [E-Board and students,” said Ament. Motivating the board members and making the students more aware was the best solution according to Azares.
Changes to the Union and effective budgeting were debated by the candidates, but here too they all agreed that student input was essential. Borzumate said that if elected he would introduce a plan for “open 24 hours Union, a multicultural center, and changes to the food services.”
A major question posed to the PU candidates involves the lack of campus clubs, organizations, and events. The candidates each felt that students should be provided with more information about on-going activities, but slightly differed on their methods for achieving this. They all agreed that it was mostly a marketing issue, but their solution varied from effectively using The Polytechnic as an advertisement tool to going door to door to get a feel for what the students wanted.
When asked about the relationship between Troy and the Institute, all of the candidates agreed that it was one relationship in need of improvement. “We have a lot of opportunities to get community members involved in clubs,” said Griffith.
Although a hand count was conducted for all ballots, activity at the polling sites saw no irregularities, said Rules and Election chair Matt Rudary.
On a related topic, the end of Joe Wojciechowski’s candidacy has left this year’s GM race unopposed for the first time in recent memory, according to RNE officials.
