Informational sessions organized by the ASASUD Election Committee for students interested in running for office had very few attendants, resulting in a lack of candidates in April’s elections, sources said.
During at least one of the meetings, which were mandatory for students who wished to have their name on the election ballot, only one student was in attendance.
Throughout the sessions, turnout was “extremely low,” said freshman Sen. Daiyaan Colbert.
Six informational sessions on elections were held in March; four were held the week before spring break — a time when many students typically have midterm exams — and two extra sessions held back-to-back on March 21.
The first official mention of the first four sessions on ASASUD’s Facebook page was made 24 hours before the first session was scheduled. Each event was also announced the day of, one to two hours before the event.
The sessions on March 21 were also announced the day before and morning of the meetings.
“It wasn’t publicized very well … the information sessions were a complete surprise to me,” said presidential candidate Joseph Grossman, a criminology and criminal justice sophomore. Grossman attended one of the final information sessions on March 21.
ASASUD public relations officer Beth Wischnia said they would have liked to advertise the events sooner, but they needed to wait until details of the events were worked out. She said that reserving a room for the sessions was a major issue that slowed the promotion.
Last year’s information sessions were advertised the same way.
The information sessions, like most ASASUD events, were primarily promoted through social media and individual senators reaching out to their constituents.
It is unknown how many senators spoke to their constituents about the informational sessions, but Wischnia said senators should be promoting events year-round. Grossman said that if students were interested in running for office, they would have sought the information.
“People find information when they’re looking for it,” Grossman said.
Applications for running as a write-in candidate for the executive ticket or Senate will be accepted until March 30 at 5 p.m. and can be found online at asasud.com.
Contact the reporter at connor.radnovich@asu.edu
