Stony Brook’s Undergraduate Student Government (USG) held a special election to propose changes to the eligibility requirements for the positions of Vice President of Student Life and Treasury and were approved after the student body voted in favor.
USG announced that the changes to the Treasurer requirements won with 72.58% of students voting in favor on Tuesday, Feb. 11. Similarly, 73.8% of students voted in favor of the changes for the Vice President of Student Life position. Students had the opportunity to vote from Monday, Feb. 3 to Friday, Feb. 7.
In an email sent to students, USG explained the new qualifications for each position. For Treasurer, candidates must have either served as a staff member in the Office of Treasury or completed at least five hours of shadowing members in the office. They went into detail with the specificity of shadowing.
“[Shadowing] includes shadowing the Treasurer and Associate Treasurer. Shadowing activities may include observing office hours and gaining hands-on experience in Treasury operations. Shadowing hours must be approved by both the Treasurer and the USG Administrative Director. If no candidate meets the requirements, the top three candidates with the highest number of shadowing hours will be considered,” USG wrote.
The USG also added that candidates must attend an information workshop hosted by current Treasurers, which will cover important topics to prepare them for their potential position. This includes budget grants, invoice requests, appeals and financial bylaws.
For Vice President of Student Life, candidates must have either served as a member of the Office of Student Life or shadowed someone from the Office of Student Life for a minimum of five hours.
Additionally, those interested must attend an on-site informational workshop hosted by the incumbent Vice President of Student Life. This workshop will provide an in-depth overview of the day-to-day responsibilities of the position. If no candidate meets the qualifications, the top three candidates with the highest number of shadowing hours will then be considered.
This special election had a notably low turnout. Of the 17,000 eligible undergraduate students, only 124 students voted on both resolutions. That means less than 1% of the student body participated in the election.
USG will host its general election at the end of the spring semester to elect members of the Senate and Executive Council. The exact dates have yet to be determined, but election campaigning is soon underway.
