The polls were open today in the Undergraduate Student Government’s fall election for a new vice president of academic affairs and a new freshman representative.
All undergraduate students are eligible to vote. The election takes place on SOLAR and ends at noon on Friday, Nov. 4. The winners will be announced at 4 p.m. that same day.
According to the USG Constitution, the vice president of academic affairs works as the USG link to the administration and faculty, coordinates all USG operations related to academic policy and guarantees that faculties are “making strong contributions to student development, inside and outside the classroom.”
A freshman representative represents the class’s interests to the USG and plans appropriate programs to meet the needs of freshman students.
The vice president of academic affairs makes $135 a week while the freshman representative gets $110 a week. Their terms end in May.

Candidates for Academic Affairs
Both students running for vice president of academic affairs are planning to reduce the communication gap between students and professors and bring awareness for the PASS, or Providing Academic Support for Students, program — a tutoring service paid for by the USG.
English major Amanda Cohen, a 20-year-old junior from Brooklyn, wants to improve communications between faculty and students as well as between the USG and students. Cohen also plans to work on better advertising the PASS program on campus if elected.
“I’d like a lot more people to take advantage of this free program that we have,” she said. “I feel like a lot of people don’t know what’s going on [at the USG].”
Cohen has been a member of the Craft Club before and currently works at the USG’s accounting office.
Her contender, 19-year-old Adil Hussain, a sophomore political science major from Staten Island, also plans to reduce the communication gap between students and professors, and he also thinks that USG’s PASS program is underutilized.
If elected, Hussain plans to make recitations more effective and create a new tutor evaluation system. His proposed criteria would not just be based on tutors’ grades in class, but also on their ability to teach.
Hussain has directed several Rock Yo Face Case concerts and is currently a layout designer for The Statesman.
For more information on the candidates, check out our website for video interviews.

Candidates for Freshman Representative
Among the candidates for freshman class representatives, the most common concern is getting freshman students more involved on campus activities.
All seven candidates live on campus and are all from New York State.
Gibryon Bhojraj, a biology major, is currently a Residence Hall Association representative. If elected, his main goal is to speed the process for clubs to get money approved through the ALLOCATE website.
Jodi Chan, another biology major, is currently involved with the Pre-vet and Pre-med Societies at Stony Brook. If elected, her main goal is to get freshmen students more involved on campus events.
Stanley Ige, a political science major, is a member of the African Student Union. If elected, he wants to create events aimed directly at freshmen.
Tyrik Jiang, a history major, plans to work on increasing voter turnout at student elections. He hopes to become the USG president in the future.
Kyle Massey, who is currently taking classes in chemical engineering, thinks freshmen students are underrepresented on campus and hopes to work on better voicing their needs at the USG.
Jules Mayard, a political science major, is involved with the Stony Brook Pocket Theater, the Residence Hall Association and the Hall Council. If elected, his main goal is to get freshmen more involved with the university’s activities.
Shannon Nielsen, a psychology and political science double major, is a member of the Pre-law Society and the Mock Trial team. She plans to bring freshman classes closer together and get students to know each other.

Group Aims to Ban Tobacco on Campus
Watch out smokers! Next time you feel like having a cigarette, you might need to take a hike off campus to be able to do it.
The USG Senate is voting this Thursday on a resolution to support a tobacco-free policy at Stony Brook.
The plan is being carried by a group of six students called Battle Against Tobacco. More than 2,000 people have signed a petition supporting the policy so far, according to Miranda Guerriero, the group’s president.
The goal is to make the university completely tobacco-free, including all campus grounds and even parking lots. The East Campus has been tobacco-free since 2009.
Guerriero said banning tobacco is a trend that has gained a lot of attention among public universities, and it will just be a matter of time for Stony Brook to adopt its own policy.
“It’s going to happen at Stony Brook University at some point anyway,” she said.
All City University of New York campuses will go tobacco-free starting September 2012, according to CUNY’s website.