Tomorrow is election time again for both undergraduate and graduate Student Senate, but neither will have any competition at the polls tomorrow.
We're the only party
but it's still been a point for us to campaign said Morgan Allen, the presidential candidate for the AMP party and this year's off-campus living senator.
The AMP party has created a newsletter and a Web site, www.ouamp.com, to explain its platforms and encourage students to vote despite the lack of an opposing party, Allen said.
Money for campaigning comes from the party members' fundraising and this year it was difficult to raise money without competition, she said.
Graduate senate secretary Katie Nutter said she recalled races from her undergraduate days at OU when students seemed to be more involved.
I remember in part at least two parties and a lot of campaigning went on
Nutter said. They seemed to have a lot more interest.
Graduate Student Senate is also conducting elections uncontested with the Tupperware Party as the only running party and Dominic Barbato, a current student senator, running for president. It is not necessarily out of the ordinary for Graduate Student Senate to have fewer parties, participants and voters, Nutter said.
Although Nutter could not say whether the lack of participation spoke to a greater trend of student apathy, it might show students have less interest in Student Senate specifically, she said.
Allen said there is some apathy toward faculty, student organizations and Student Senate, but some of it could be attributed to a lack of communication.
It's a bit of a fine line between a behind-the-scenes organization and letting students know about what we're doing
she said.
Student Senate could be considered a behind-the-scenes organization, but it is important for students to know about its initiatives, and important for the senators to know what students are thinking, Allen said.
We represent their voice
and we need to know the correct voice we're representing
she said.
One of the AMP party's goals is to pay closer attention to the student voice. Four new positions will be created to research student opinion through focus groups and surveys. Student opinion ' and Student Senate ' can affect the future of OU for years to come, Allen said.
That's the million dollar question
how to help student apathy
she said.
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