by Benjamin Kepple
Michigan Student Assembly (MSA) elections always tend to have at least a bit of surprise to them. This time around, that element of surprise was present not only in the turnout at the election, but also in the incredibly strong showing of the Students' Party, which steamrolled over their opposition with relative ease in almost every contest.
The fall turnout, which reached a healthy (or anemic) 12 percent, was somewhat higher than in previous years, when turnout has ranged from between 8 and 10 percent in the "offterm" elections. However, election watchers were proved wrong, most of whom were expecting a low or truly pathetic turnout. Indeed, the opinion page of the Michigan Daily even estimated that turnout might range from as low as 5 percent to an optimistic high of 10 percent..
The high turnout is even more surprising given the relative lack of advertising done by the MSA regarding the elections, and the relative quiet regarding the campaign by those running. Admittedly, while there were a few days in which Angell Hall looked like it had been hit with a Class Five hurricane, the campaign was rather calm. Advance press by the campus media was also limited, with the Daily essentially ignoring the race.
What this suggests is that there is a core group of students, about 10 percent of the student body, who are concerned enough about student affairs to consistently vote, regardless of how much campaigning or advertising is done. Addressing the concerns of this core constituency, then, becomes vital for any MSA contender.
In every serious contest, the Students' Party emerged as the definitive winner. In LS&A, the SP took six out of eight available seats. The other two, retained by the capable Independent Barry Rosenberg and the stillpresent Michigan Party Chair Dan Serota, would seem to lend credence to the notion that in general, students prefer MSA insiders to novices.
Indeed, in the College of Engineering, David Burden (SP) and Mark Dub (MP), both experienced and capable representatives, won reelection. In Rackham, current MSA representatives Joshua Trapani and Michael Pniewski, both Independents, also won reelection. And in the Business School, SP candidate and former Nihilist Party Chair Andrew Serowik received the majority of votes compared to newcomer Jeremy Hazan.
Traditional "outsider" parties were again trounced at the polls. The United Rebels Front, which did reasonably well and spent a great deal of money on advertising in local campus media, including a backpage Daily advertisement, still ranged in the 900-1400 point range for LSA, and in the mid150s for Engineering.
The Liberty Party, which did almost no campaigning, remained in the basement with an average LSA point total of about 400. This abysmal showing was only salvaged by Rory Diamond's innovative campaign, which received 1289 points, more than any other Liberty Party candidate.
The Defend Affirmative Action Party also fared reasonably well, about on par with the United Rebels Front, but again, not well enough to win any seats. The Defend Affirmative Action Party gathered from 750 to 1440 points. This party has done similar to past incarnations of student political parties apparently thought up and headed by party Chair Jessica Curtin, and it is reasonable to assume that should the party run in the fall, it will again have a strong showing, but not strong enough to actually win a LSA or Engineering seat.
However, smaller schools were a different matter this time around. The normally sedate Medicine race was won handily by Carlos Hernandez Ford, with 34 votes. His hapless opponents had a total of 7 votes combined.
Music was a similar slaughter, with Shaila Guthikonda (SP) beating Alex Ruthmann (DAA) 28-3. The DAA Party did win a seat in Education with a whopping 6 votes, and in Public Health, Jeff "Superfan" Holzhausen won with an almost comedic 2 votes.
Undoubtedly, the Winter race will be quite hot. Concerted campaigning and a platform that resonates with students could make one of these outsider parties part of the Establishment. But then again, who knows?MR