Student elections around the corner

By Mike Morris

Chief Returning Officer Nancy Simpson of the Loyalist Student Government sits at a table where they gather for meetings. Photo by Mike Morris.

Six candidates are running in the fall election for student leader positions at Loyalist College on Thursday.

“We have six candidates, and one acclaimed,” Chief Returning Officer Nancy Simpson said.

The candidates are Andrew Campbell and Ryan Finch from Building Sciences and Skills. Alyss Giallonardo is the acclaimed from Media Studies. The first year leadership candidates are Jared Bihun, Ian Brannon, Chantel Johnston and Stephanie Philbin. All voters must submit their student numbers and dates of birth in order to vote online.

As the chief returning officer for the election, Simpson is the organizer for the fall and winter elections every year. She must also give out nomination papers to students who want to run for student leader positions. Simpson then has to give the candidates advice on timelines, collect the paper work, and make sure the candidates are eligible to run.

“This election is to fill the vacant school leader positions,” Simpson said, “and also to fill the first year leader position.”

Candidates must be full time students, have no failed courses from the previous semester, and they must be in a specific program for the school they represent. Students who run for first year leadership must be first year students.

Simpson said they might have friends represent them for the election, depending on the candidates. She added that Student Government doesn’t assign anyone to candidates. Voting is over by 4 P.M. on Thursday, and students can have a chance to win $500 by doing so. The winners will be announced later that day