On Thursday, April 24, votes were tallied to name the newest president of Monmouth College’s student body. With just 17.6 percent of the student body’s vote, the duo of junior Paige Halpin and sophomore John Kaiser were elected to the presidency and vice-presidency, respectively, of the Associated Students of Monmouth College (ASMC).

Halpin and Kaiser were opposed by sophomore Stephanie Arrowsmith and junior Alicia Cox.  This was the first presidential race to have two candidates in the running in three years.

Halpin and Kaiser gained 220 of the 300 tallied votes to earn the right to the presidency. Unfortunately, this means fewer than 25 percent of the campus was represented in this election.Of a possible 1,247 students who were eligible to vote, just 300 turned out, meaning only 24 percent of the campus even voted.

On her victory, Halpin said, “I am looking forward to serving the campus next year; the challenges that are ahead are exciting, and both John and I are looking forward to improving not just the campus but, more specifically, the entire student government process.”

“I am honored that the student body has given me this opportunity to continue the betterment of Monmouth College and to continue the positive change that has been brewing over the last year,” concluded Halpin.

The poor turnout to the polls only echoed the concerns that dean of students and vice president of student life Jacquelyn Condon voiced just a week ago. Condon stated a concern over the limited representation and identification students have with ASMC and its leaders. Condon voiced that she felt students needed to get better informed and get involved with the issues that students are faced with on campus.

Senior Jerry Justice commented, “As with all democratic systems the option for the general public to become more actively involved is always there...however, this requires said public to become educated about the system and the issues coming before it. Sadly, while people like to complain that they are not accurately represented they do not like taking the time to educate themselves.”

Many students claimed that they did not feel properly informed on the issues and where the candidates stood. Advertisement for the election was also weak due and preceding student body president Matthew Faron stated, “With how the calendar year fell getting quorum for approving the election rules was difficult, by the time they were passed the times had been cut short, which was unfortunate.  I know the student elections committee worked as hard as they could, but at this time of the year it is hard to get so much done under a short time period.” Due to a lack of attendance at recent ASMC meetings it took longer than expected to set the election rules.

Despite the low turnout, Halpin and Kaiser were able to stretch out a strong lead at the voting booths and lay claim to next year’s presidency and vice-presidency. The pair will have a daunting task in front of them next year, as right now an amendment sits before the current ASMC body that would fundamentally change the constitution.

Faron sent his congratulations to the newly elected Halpin and Kaiser, saying, “It was exciting to see the race this year and both candidates worked hard to campaign.  I know that both Paige and John are both going to work hard next year, and congratulations to the both of them for their efforts and good luck.”

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