By Megan Voss
The Loyalist College Student Government is trying to get the word out about elections as much as they can.
“We’ve got flyers out as well as through the Facebook page, e-newsletters and our website: loyaliststudents.com,” says Nancy Simpson, returning officer.
To vote, students must go online to loyaliststudents.com, provide their date of birth and student number. Then, they can select one out of two candidates in three different categories.
Last year’s voter turnout was a mere eight percent, and in the hope of having more people vote this year, Simpson says students have the opportunity to win $500 by voting online.
Christopher Detering in broadcast engineering has been acclaimed as student president, since he was the only candidate.
“I don’t think anyone ran against me because when you think about it the title of ‘Student Government President’ can be intimidating,” he says.
“Since most of our current board is leaving at the end of this year, someone with no experience on student government might be a little scared to take the big chair.”
On the college’s voting website, Detering writes that he feels that he could bring more of himself into the role of president.
“I feel it would be a valuable experience for me,” he says. “I also feel very attached to this college and want to see it grow and succeed as much as possible.”
As president, his wish is for more classroom space.
“Classrooms have been converted for several different non-classroom uses and it’s having an impact on the students and scheduling,” he says.
He also hopes to work to lower cafeteria prices, expand the cellphone extender program beyond the pub to other dead zones around the school and work to make pub nights more enjoyable for everyone.
“I’m most looking forward to another year with the student government. This past year, as Media Studies Leader has been fun and a learning experience for me about what the student government actually does for students. I want to listen to what the students have to say and help make what they want, happen.
“Also, I don’t think people fully realize what we do and that as a member of the board we really can make change around the college. I think most people think we just organize pub, but there’s so much more to it than that and that’s where I think the reluctance to run comes from.
“I’d encourage anyone who wants to make change around the college, to make it a better environment for everyone, to run in next year’s elections.”