I want to begin by congratulating the four members of the class of 2016 who were voted to the Senior Class Council. Juniors Shelli Reeves, Milagros Green, Kelly Johnson and Sean Roskamp will make up the council for next yearās graduating class.
As most of you probably donāt know, the process of electing the president and vice president was broken this year.
After Ben Miller and Brittany Spicer were elected to be president and vice president on March 27, they received congratulations from Rock Jones, the Presidentās assistant, current Senior Class Council President Liz Fisher and friends around campus. Everything was peachy and it seemed like a normal election. Not so fast!
Soon after, they received an email from the post-graduate intern Hillary Fowler to notify them of the upcoming run-off election. Apparently, if candidates win without 50 percent of the vote, there must be a run-off election. These rules were never stated prior to the election.
With not even half the junior class voting and three candidates running for president and VP, gaining 50 percent is nearly impossible.
The run-off election took place this past week with even fewer people voting. Reeves and Green won even though they didnāt receive as many votes as Miller and Spicer during the first election.
Now, at this point, Iām not really mad, just disappointed. I canāt help but feel bad for Miller and Spicer. According to the stated rules (or lack thereof), they won the spots fair and square the first go around.
Ohio Wesleyan blew it. This is pathetic. How hard is it to run a fair election? Many students, including myself, had the same response when hearing the news: chuckled and let out a big āthatās bullshit.ā No wonder the school is losing so much money. Yes, this is on a very small scale and no one will care in two weeks, but sometimes itās the little things that matter most in life.
Keeping your word is a great quality to have. I like to think Iām someone who keeps my word.Ā Iām sure you would like that reputation as well. And Iām 100 percent certain OWU wants to be viewed as an esteemed institution. Why else would we hire a branding consultant and get a brand new tour bus?
Ohio Wesleyan, if youāre reading this, itās too late. But for next time, communicate with the candidates a little more thoroughly. If potential students hear about the professionalism of the Senior Class Council election, maybe enrollment will go back up.