The Student Assembly general elections are being held today, and polls will be open until 8 p.m. All enrolled students, graduates and undergrads, are eligible to vote for SA president and vice president and several referenda.
Additionally, underclassmen can vote for their respective class officers. Elections are being held through the
Underclassmen can vote on four referenda: green fees, Police Department behavior, HBO access and the Save-a-Professor referendum. Graduate students can also vote on a Graduate Student Senate referendum.
Current SA President Zach Pilchen (’09) and Vice President Valarie Hopkins (’09) are running for re-election, only with their roles reversed. Hopkins is aiming for president and Pilchen for veep.
They are being challenged by Adam Rosen (’09) and Emily Nuñez (’09).
For more information about the campaigns, visit either
Green fees are a proposal to “support sustainable initiatives on campus,” that, according to the referendum, will promote programs such as “renewable energy purchases, installation of solar panels, recycling programs, building upgrades and reservation, and conservation promotion programs.”
If the referendum passes, it would add $15 to a general student fee that all students pay, aimed at reducing the College’s energy bill.
The Police Department behavior referendum poses the question of whether “the William and Mary Police Department [behaves] in a manner which is overly harsh and unresponsive to daily student needs.”
The HBO initiative is to bring the movie channel to campus. Keeping the campus movie channel (channel 52) is also in question. Adding HBO would be a $17.50 increase to the general student fee.
The last issue on the ballot is the Save-a-Professor referendum.
According to SIN, the Save-A-Professor fund "was created to retain excellent faculty” in 2004, and every year “one professor is chosen by committee to receive a $10,000 yearly bonus for a three year period. This money is collected from a $5 fee added into each student’s tuition.”
This referendum proposes raising the fee to $7 for three years to support an additional professor in the wake of the Virginia General Assembly budget cuts.
For more information on any of the referenda, class officers or the president and vice president election, or to vote, visit the SIN website.
The DoG Street Journal will report election results as they come in.