GSG holds first popular elections
After an extensive petitioning campaign, the Graduate Student Government kicked off its first student-wide popular election yesterday.Though gaining approval from the GSG for a popular election has been a long process, a handful of concerned students are finally seeing their goal realized.Prior to this year, GSG officers were selected by an assembly consisting of representatives from each academic department, said former GSG assembly member Jason Brownlee."This kind of system is not truly representative because students serving as representatives have been able to serve without any regular accountability in the form of a school-wide election," Brownlee said.Last August, Brownlee ? with the help of current GSG Chair Lauren Hale and other GSG members ? obtained about 200 signatures on a petition for student body-wide GSG elections.The GSG assembly adopted the petition into its bylaws, with the stipulation that at least 10 percent of the graduate student body must vote in order for the new system to be implemented permanently, Hale said.Matt Fouse, running unopposed for GSG Chair, commented on the importance of a high level of participation in the election.




