The United Student Government (USG), which is now SGA, had problems back then which may seem familiar now. One of which highlighted in this article from March 27, 1979, is especially relevant now: a lack of candidates running.

“It’s sad to see that students don’t even take an interest in student government,” Randy Skubek, chief justice of the college disciplinary board, said regarding the poor turnout of candidates for United Student Government (USG) elections scheduled for Spring Week.

Skubek, who will be running the election along with the associate justices, said he has received four petitions thus far.

The candidates for president/vice-president are Ray Rollins/Bruce Jones and Speros Neforos/Johnmark Ridings. The candidates for at-large representatives to the general assembly are Phil Smith and Mary Lee.
The election is scheduled to be April 25 and 26 in the Student Lounge.

According to USG President John Tokarski, the problem of not having enough candidates for the various positions is not provided for in the constitution. The judicial board would have to make a decision on extending the petition deadline or choosing other alternatives.

Petitions for all USG positions are available in the Office of Student Affairs, 508LH. All petitions must be returned to the USG office by Friday, March 30.

Editor’s Note: Perotti is now a professor at Hofstra University, teaching political science.

As for the USG election of 1979, Ray Rollins and Bruce Jones won.

However, the fight wasn’t quite over. The two losing candidates contested the election, saying Rollins and Jones campaigned too close to the polling site.

Section four, paragraph three of the USG constitution, states no candidate can campaign within 20 feet of the polls. It is unknown if this is still a rule in SGA, especially since elections now take place online.