Sophomore Jessa Wais created a petition calling for a one week delay in the Student Government Association (SGA) elections along with an additional debate for students to voice their concerns. As of press time, the petition had 353 signatures out of a requested 500.
“With all of the shortcomings leading up to the election, we believe students have not been given an adequate opportunity to become informed voters,” Wais wrote in the petition. “For these reasons, we demand the voting period be delayed at least one week, with a more organized additional debate facilitated to give students the chance to speak for themselves on issues they find important.”
Wais argued that the student body was not given enough information about the debate, which led to low attendance.
“Notice was given only two days prior to the debate with the creation of a Facebook page, and an official email was sent only one day prior,” Wais wrote in the petition. “Information on the debate was not even included in the daily announcements. This is unacceptable.”
Furthermore, Wais criticized SGA Executive President Jack Bartholet’s intial response to Black Student Union (BSU) Vice President Tiffany Oneyejiaka’s call for the candidates to address diversity and inclusion during the debate.
“During the debate, not a single question was asked about diversity ... When Tiffany asked why none of the official questions mentioned diversity, Jack responded “we have limited time here,” Wais wrote in the petition. “We believe here at Johns Hopkins University, we have time for diversity.”
In response to the petition, the Committee on Student Elections (CSE) released a Facebook post late Thursday night. The CSE has decided not to postpone the election but is lengthening the voting period from Sunday to Tuesday to give students a longer time to consider the candidates’ platforms.
“The CSE will not postpone the election and will not hold another debate,” the CSE wrote in the post. “The elections will begin Friday, April 8, 2016 at 9 AM. However, the CSE will extend the voting period until Tuesday, April 12, 2016, at 9 AM. This is to allow the write-in candidates to establish their presence and for constituents to understand the candidates’ platform to make more informed decisions.”
Regarding the criticisms of the organization and administration of the debate, the CSE blamed a low budget and a lack of support from school administrators.
“Unfortunately, the CSE is run on a low budget. The CSE has done what it can to promote the election events,” the CSE wrote in their Facebook post. “Due to late responses from school administrators, the room was secured two days before the debate, which lead to the scramble to promote the event. However, the CSE reiterates that the debates are not mandated by the CSE Bylaws.”
Additionally, the CSE emphasized that they are seeking to improve their transparency and communication with the student body.
“We have heard the concerns of the student at Johns Hopkins University. We are reforming the elections for the future to be more transparent and public,” the CSE wrote. “The CSE appreciates the input from the community and is committed to running more transparent, public, and informative elections.”
Wais criticized the CSE’s performance this year, but notes that the organization is improving.
“Recently, the CSE announced they are ‘’reforming the elections for the future to be more transparent and public’. This is just another example of the leaders of our institution being reactive instead of proactive,” Wais wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “While this is a step in the right direction, there is still much work to be done if we are going to have a functioning, representative student government that truly listens to its student body. “
Wais was pleased with the student body’s response to the debate controversy.
“It has been refreshing to see students so interested in campus issues. In fact, the petition has garnered over 350 supporters, a number that seems especially high when looking at the 93 votes Jack Bartholet received to gain control of his current position,” Wais wrote.
Several of the current of the Executive Board candidates have responded to this petition.
Executive President candidate John Hughes expressed his support for petition’s goal of postponing the election, but has no issue with the election taking place this weekend. However, Hughes warned that there could be a possible lack of legitimacy in the results.
“I absolutely support postponing the election, especially given that the demand is coming from the student body. It’s within the CSE’s power – there are no bylaws stating a maximum length of a campaign period,” Hughes wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “I will state that I have no issue standing for election this weekend if the CSE decides not to extend the election. However, if students choose to abstain from voting in this weekend’s election in order to protest the way the election was handled, the consequences for the legitimacy of the result could be dire. “
He also echoes the petition’s sentiment in calling for more discussion of diversity in SGA.
“The petition states that ‘here at Johns Hopkins University, we have time for diversity.’ I couldn’t agree more – and I believe that the exclusion of diversity discussions from SGA proceedings and elections is a systemic issue that should be more fully addressed during this election cycle,” Hughes wrote in an email.
Executive President candidate Liam Haviv noted that postponing the election violates SGA’s current constitution.
“I think there is absolutely value in postponing elections,” Haviv wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “My concerns are that a) that violates the current constitution (which our campaign advocates amending) and b) it postpones the class elections as well.”
Haviv also expressed support for another event for students to voice their opinions and concerns at the candidates prior to the end of elections.
“I saw that the CSE extended elections until Tuesday,” Haviv wrote. “Perhaps we could hold another debate, or even better, a town hall where students could ask any question they want? I'm definitely open to talking about it with the other candidates as well as the CSE.”.
Executive President candidate Charlie Green declined to comment.
Kelsey Ko, Sam Fossum and Sherry Kim contributed reporting.
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