Bucks held elections this
week for 10 positions in the
Student Government
Association.
Students could vote online at
https://eBallot.votenet.com/bu
cks
The only problem was, as of
press time only one student
was running for office.
“The Student Government
Association, or SGA, acts as
the representative body for all
Bucks students,” Director of
Student Life Programs and
adviser to the student government
Matthew Cipriano
explained.
Students were supposed to
vote on executive board positions
of president, vice president
of executive orders, vice
president of activities, executive
treasurer, executive secretary,
and the councilor positions
of councilor for student
involvement, councilor for
public relations, councilor for
clubs and organizations, councilor
for student advocacy, and
councilor at large.
Cipriano said even though
one candidate was running,
students could nominate writein
candidates online. “While the people holding
the elected positions do a lot of
work, we do our best to keep it
democratic by encouraging the
students who make up the
Bucks student population to
give us their voices and ideas
by talking to the SGA,” said
Cipriano.
Students could vote by signing
into the website using their
student identification name
and password. Students could
vote only once for each position.
Had there been numerous
candidates, “In the event of a
tie in votes, we let the students
who are running work it out
together, but if they cannot
come to a compromise, we do
a runoff election to decide the
victor,” Cipriano said.
Any student who has maintained
a cumulative GPA of 2.0
and completed one semester at
Bucks can run for office.
Students who want to run for
a SGA position must speak to
Cipriano in the Student Life
office in Rollins 112. He gives
students an election candidate
application packet that
explains all the details about
what students who wish to run
for election must know.
Often, a student will wait
until the last minute to campaign
for election.
Campaigning usually
ncludes putting up flyers as
well as talking to fellow students
online and in person.
“Campaigning can make a
huge difference because it’s
not uncommon for students to
get favored in an election simply
because they are more popular
than most other students,”
said Cipriano.
The elected students will be
officially sworn in to their
positions at the StudentAwards
Luncheon in May.
Cipriano said, “We often
have to deal with open positions
since students unexpectedly
transfer from time to time,
and we fill these positions by
appointment. Some students
have asked to switch positions
simply because they didn’t like
what their job entailed.”
While it is not an issue that
any political group would want
to consider, the idea of
impeachment has come up
in the past, often for personality
conflicts, though
no student has ever been
impeached.
There is a personal conduct
policy in place for the
students holding SGApositions,
which means that a
student can lose his position
not only for committing
a serious infraction on
campus, but also if it is discovered
that they’ve committed
an infraction off campus.
The SGA meets once a week
on Tuesdays from about 12:30
p.m. to 1:30 p.m. and they discuss
anything pertaining to the
college.
While the SGA’s primary
concern is what happens within
the borders of the campus,
issues from outside Bucks will
often arise. Any construction
that occurs on the local roads is
often discussed since it can
affect transportation to and
from the campus.
The recent Haiti earthquake
has prompted the SGA to begin
a fundraiser called “Hearts for
Haiti” to donate money and
valuables to the people of the
nation of Haiti.
The SGA has always had a
good reputation for keeping a
budget. Budgeting and funding
have, according to Cipriano,
never been an issue.
To better the college, SGA
members, especially the executive
ones, should be available
to talk to students with concerns.