TECHNICIAN
tuesday february
18 2014
Raleigh, North Carolina
technicianonline.com
Parker declines second term, campaigns start soon Ravi Chittilla Assistant News Editor
Students interested in filing their candidacy for the position of Student Body President will have the chance to do so from Feb. 24 to March 3, according to Student Body President Alex Parker. Candidates can begin campaigning on March 17 and can continue to do so until the election, which will take place from noon on March 31 until noon on April 1.
Parker, who is a junior, announced his decision not to run for a second term earlier this month. Parker said although he remains fully-invested in serving the student body, he wanted someone else to have the opportunity to serve in the role. “I know a lot of people that are going to run and that are passionate and excited about serving N.C. State,” Parker said. Parker said though he is stepping down from the role, he plans to help with the transition
process. “It’ll be a great transition, and I’ll still be here advising the next president,” Parker said. Beginning this year, the candidacy for Student Government’s highest office will be contested by a two-person ticket consisting of a presidential and vice-presidential candidate. “I think it’s an exciting change, and hopefully it’ll get more students out to vote and get involved in Student Government,” Parker said. “I think this will allow campaigns to go
more places and reach more students and better represent the student body when they are elected.” The change will also prevent a repeat scenario of last year’s election, when former Student Body President Matthew Williams resigned, and Parker, who had originally been elected Student Senate President, succeeded him. Candidates running for any position in Student Government must attend an All Candidates’ meeting on March 5 or March 6.
Board of Elections meets behind closed doors, talks campaign-violation rules Aaron Thomas Correspondent
Student Government’s Board of Elections met Monday night to prepare for the upcoming student elections and to discuss policies regarding campaign rule violations. After holding two to three icebreakers and introducing the discussion topics for the meeting, Elections Commission Chair Simran Mann asked the press to leave. The following information was obtained after the meeting. Mann said she wants Student Government to discuss ways for handling candidate violations while addressing mistakes made by former Student Government members in the past. “Everything about the campaign violations will be uploaded to the website in 24 hours,” Mann said. “You can also look at statutes, anyone can see what’s going on there. That’s what we’re mandated to follow.” Composed of various committees emphasizing finances, publicity and rules and regulations, the Board of Elections is in its beginning stages of providing general guidelines for upcoming election. “Right now, we’re going over the rules just to make sure we’re all on the same page and using the same procedure for handling any violations,” said Maggie Lampe, a member of the Rules and Regulations Committee for Student Government. Additionally, the elections com-
mission acts as a moderator for student elections. “Our goal is to make sure the election goes fairly and smoothly and that candidates are informed on how to make that happen,” said Brian Parks, vice chair of the Board of Elections. Lampe and other members of the committee are responsible for reviewing rules from last year and figuring out ways to make them more effective for the following year. The discussion of the violation checklist was held in private. The election board, which is responsible for providing informative details about the election process to Student Government, meets weekly to ensure the members understand policies, rules and regulations. Parks mentioned some challenges the board will face this semester because half of them are new members and they will have to adapt to change quickly. As a fifth-year member of the Board of Elections, he has seen the board’s rules and standards change frequently. Though the Board of Elections is waiting to confirm official meeting dates from the Student Senate, Mann said the upcoming candidates are required to attend a meeting where Student Government leaders will make sure they are all aware of the rules and expectations. “We [will] go over all the rules with them, so it’s all about helping the candidates understand the process of what they can and can’t do,” Mann said.
University study finds N.C. voter law discriminatory Staff Report
North Carolina’s new election law has been criticized again, this time by researchers from Dartmouth and the University of Florida who say the law will disproportionately affect black voters. The law, House Bill 589, which reduced the time period for early voting, eliminated same-day voter registration during early voting and requires a photo ID to vote, was justified by Republican lawmakers as a way to decrease voter fraud. However, the United States Department of Justice sued North Carolina because the law discriminates against minorities, according to its website. The study found that AfricanAmerican voters disproportionately don’t have the required form of ID required to vote, citing information from the North Carolina DMV.
African-American voters were also found to vote and register to vote during the early voting period more compared to white voters. The new law eliminated preregistration for 16-and 17-year-olds. That demographic was also found to be disproportionately AfricanAmerican. The law, formerly known as House Bill 589, passed in July and Gov. Pat McCrory signed it into law in August. The study claims the law will suppress black voters, who make up 22 percent of the state’s population and typically vote for democratic candidates. The study didn’t examine other minority groups and only included statistics for white and AfricanAmerican voters.
VICTORIA CROCKER/TECHNICIAN
Jennifer Antoniono, a sophomore in biomedical engineering, shows prospective N.C. State students around Lee Hall, the location of Women In Science and Engineering in the Living and Learning Village on Monday. High school students visited N.C. State to find out about WISE.
Women In Science and Engineering holds event for prospective students Brittany Bynum Staff Writer
The Engineering Ambassadors hosted information sessions and tours for the Women in Science and Engineering Visitation Day in the McKimmon Center Monday. About 60 prospective female students and parents attended the event in hopes of deciding whether N.C. State is the right school for them. Students previewed a college class by participating in Mock Engineering 101. Parents and students toured campus, including Lee Hall, where WISE members reside. The event also showcased different departments within the College of Engineering. Alice Forgety, director of Recruiting for College of Engineering, planned and coordinated the engineering part of the event. Forgety said her strategy was to showcase the University, WISE and the College of Engineering to parents and students. “This is a way that N.C. State sets
“It’s important to show women that we care about them being in science and engineering.” Jennifer Piercy, director of recruiting for paper science and engineering
itself apart from other colleges,” Forgety said. Forgety said she hopes the prospective students learned about the opportunities that N.C. State has to offer. She said WISE gives everyone a sense of inclusion and has useful resources for students. “The WISE program empowers women to do anything they need to do,” Forgety said. The WISE program has a retention rate of 50 percent, according to Lauren Kingston, an engineering
ambassador and junior in biological and agricultural engineering, who said most WISE students leave the learning village after their freshman year to live in other dorms, such as Bragraw Residence Hall or off-campus apartments. The program ends after a student’s sophomore year unless they want to return and be a mentor. Kingston also said the WISE program has grown in recent years. Kingston said it’s helpful to live around students taking similar course work as a freshman. She said study groups within WISE were helpful when she was told by professors that she was taking a “weed out” engineering class. “New experiences like WISE make it easier to transition into college because college can be nerve-wracking,” Kinsgton said. The College of Engineering has a total of 18 departments with many concentrations according to Kinston, and eight of them were
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