Only 2 seats contested in GPSC elections; 8 others left empty

Elections Officer Kathleen Fernicola said, "I'm disappointed with the turnout for the election. It's clear we have a lot of work to do to better reach graduate and professional students."

Of the 17 constituent units in the Graduate College, only nine garnered candidates. Of those, only two seats were contested.

In the College of Fine Arts, Rick Emrich received 10 votes over Emily E. Yewell, who received six votes.

Emrich, a media arts graduate student, said he wants to get more of his constituents involved in the council.

"I would like to get more contact with students in other departments as well as learn more about what resources are available to us," he said.

In the Karl Eller Graduate School of Management, Erik Carlson received 42 votes over Bhupesh Arora and David Bowersox, who received 27 and 20 votes, respectively.

In the uncontested seats, the following were elected:

• College of Agriculture, Kathleen Fernicola and Jonathan Hartman

• College of Architecture, Sabrina Phillips

• College of Education, Teri Martinez and Cheryl Winsten-Bartlett

• College of Engineering and Mines, Ali Mehrabian and Hau Nguyen

• The Faculty of Humanities, Tully Thibeau

• College of Law, Laurin N. Eskridge and Albert Zimmerman

• The Faculty of Social and Behavioral Science, Lisa Rashotte.

The president and administrative vice president of GPSC will be selected later from among these representatives.

Fernicola said runners-up in the contested seats are eligible to become alternates and may run for executive vice president and treasurer, as well as director or committee head positions. She said those elections and appointments will take place after the inauguration of representatives May 1.

Carlson, a first-year MBA student, said he is interested in the executive position of treasurer.

"I want to wait until the transition day when we learn about all the positions so I know what kind of time commitment each position entails," he said.

Transition day, April 26 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., allows newly elected representatives to ask questions and learn from past officers about their positions.

GPSC representatives receive a stipend of $400 per year. Committee heads also receive $400 on top of their representative stipend.

Executive officer stipends are negotiated through the Graduate College budget.

The president receives a $5,000 stipend, the executive vice president receives $4,000, the administrative vice president receives $3,000 and the treasurer receives $2,000.

The six directors also receive stipends between $1,500 and $4,000.

The swearing in of new representatives is set for May 1 at 12:15 p.m. in the GPSC offices.

The unfilled seats in the College of Business and Public Administration, College of Medicine, College of Nursing, Department of Optical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, Faculty of Science and non-degree seeking students will be filled next fall, Fernicola said.

"GPSC is going through a major transition this year after splitting from ASUA," Carlson said.

"Hopefully we have reached a balance and can see really who we are."