SGB candidates kick off election season

Prospective Student Government Board members will entice voters with T-shirts and colorful… Prospective Student Government Board members will entice voters with T-shirts and colorful banners as they begin campaiging for seats on the 2012 Board.

Seventeen students are officially running for the 2012-2013 Board — 15 for the eight board member positions and two for president — although students may still file for late candidacy up to one week before the election. Three students have applied for late candidacy for Board positions so far, but their names will not be released until they finish the process.

Current board members John Hasley and James Landreneau are running against each other for SGB president.

Tyler Walters, Zoe Samudzi, Robert Beecher, Megan McGrath, Alex Murdoch, CJ Stavrakos, Gordon Louderback, Natalie Rothenberger, Pooja Patel, Halim Genus, Julie Hallinan, Richard White, David Clark, Olivia Armstrong and Darren Pifer will run for board members this year.

Campaigning begins today, and all candidates may solicit students, receive endorsements, raise funds, hang banners, advertise electronically and distribute T-shirts, according to SGB’s election code.

Landreneau, a senior, said that he wants to use these elections as a continuation of his effort to create a more approachable Board. Often, he said, students perceive SGB’s role as only allocating money to student groups.

“But the rabbit hole goes a little deeper than that,” Landreneau, who wants to pursue a more transparent Board if he’s elected, said.

Hasley, a senior, said the best part of campaigning is hearing the many perspectives of Pitt students.

“I mean, you really don’t get that perspective any time in your term because, you know, you’re not out there, going to meetings with people as much. So you really get to hear about what students want, and hopefully as you get elected, that shapes your actions on Board,” the history and philosophy double major said.

Paper campaigning, the phase during which candidates are allowed to distribute posters, flyers, buttons and stickers, begins Nov. 15 at midnight. The election starts at 8 a.m. on Nov. 17.

Along with weighing in on a fresh list of board candidates, students will vote on a potential change in the voting system. The referendum will allow students to vote for eight board members and one president in next year’s election. Currently, students select five board members and a president.

“I have very high hopes that [the referendum] will pass, I don’t see why students wouldn’t want to allow themselves to vote for eight candidates,” Kari Rosenkaimer, elections chair for SGB, said.

Students vote by logging into my.pitt.edu.