The Graduate and Professional Student Council inaugurated 18 new members to the 2011-2012 council, including Roeland Hancock as president, who is the husband of current president Emily Connally.
Connally said that there is no one she trusts more to take on the role of GPSC president because Hancock has the best understanding about what the president does on a daily basis. She explained that although he has a different style than her, describing him as a more reasonable, “”quiet killer,”” she considers him to be one of the biggest and brightest contributions to the university.
Hancock ran unopposed, despite that fact that about 10 different people approached Connally about running for the position of president prior to the elections. Although Connally said she was “”surprised”” only one person ran for president, she could see that many of the people who spoke to her expressed concern about the great time commitment associated with the office of president.
More than 300 students voted in the GPSC elections, held online from April 8 to April 15. About half as many students voted in this year’s elections in comparison to last, according to Connally, which she said was an “”abysmal turnout.””
Jason Earl, the chief of staff of the GPSC, said that the low voter turnout could have been due to the timing of the elections. He explained that they were held during student “”hell week,”” consisting of end-of-semester papers.
Candidates running unopposed also created less excitement, according to Earl.
Eighteen individuals ran for a total of 16 positions. GPSC had laptops where constituents could vote during many major events throughout Graduate and Professional Student Appreciation Week. The reasoning behind that, explained Connally, is because she did not want to pressure constituents at a social event.
Individuals running as college representatives for the GPSC must have obtained at least 10 signatures, and those running for president, vice president, or “”at large”” positions must have obtained at least 20 signatures, and at least 10 had to be from colleges other than their own. There was a public forum held for candidates during Graduate and Professional Student Appreciation Week, at which candidates made statements regarding their ideas and gave constituents an opportunity to ask them questions.
Although Connally said she wished that more students voted in the elections, she said that she was impressed with the visibility of the GPSC this year.
