While the number of candidates running for 39 legislator positions in Friday's DSG election was almost twice that of last year, only one-quarter of the student body voted.
In addition, only three students ran to fill the six positions available on Central Campus. The three students who ran have been elected to the legislature and the other three seats will remain empty until the spring semester, when new representatives will be elected by the legislature, said Trinity junior Bill Schloss, DSG Attorney General.
The increased number of total candidates, the lack of Central Campus candidates and the low voter turnout are all a result of student dissatisfaction with the University administration, said Trinity senior Randy Fink, Duke Student Government executive vice-president. "[Some students] were forced into apathy, some were goaded into action," he said.
Dissatisfaction with current policies played a large role in Trinity junior Jeff Craver's decision not to vote. "I was not interested in the elections. The administration shows its power, and DSG has no control, and my vote has even less control," he said.
But Trinity sophomore Jason Barclay disagreed, citing dissatisfaction as a reason to vote. "If we're going to complain about the system, we need to be active in it. Otherwise, we don't have a right to complain," he said.
In addition to displeasure with the University administration, a lack of information about the candidates also may have played a role in the low turnout. "I really didn't know anything about any of the candidates," said Trinity sophomore Patrick Cooper, who did not vote.
Many of the campaigns relied predominantly on fliers, which could have also played a part in voter apathy, Fink said. "Maybe students were overwhelmed by all the names without knowing what [the candidates] stood for," he said. "Using fliers is not as good a tactic [for candidates to use] as getting out and telling people about their platform."
But even tudents who won said they did not have large-scale campaigns meant to inform vast numbers of students. "[My campaign] wasn't very extensive," said Trinity sophomore Evy Pappas, who won a legislator position from West Campus.
Pappas' campaign relied mainly on putting up fliers and talking to friends and acquaintances. "It was unnecessary to do more. Some [candidates] didn't do anything," she said.
Fink said he would like to see more interaction between voters and candidates in future elections. To achieve this goal, DSG plans to use the World Wide Web so that candidates will have a chance to present their views to voters.
Having more student groups endorse candidates for legislative positions would also be beneficial, Schloss said.
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