Three slates attended the second Student Government Association Nomination Convention on Thursday, but only two were approved to run for election.
Elections Chair Marco Pretell-Vazquez said Cardinal Impact, the lone slate that attended the first convention, and Cardinal Collaboration are eligible to campaign immediately. More slates can enter the election if they turn in a valid election packet by 5 p.m. Sunday. He said late entries can't campaign until 9 a.m. Monday when the ballot is posted.
Cardinal Impact was denied by the Elections Board on Monday because of problems with the 400 student signatures required in the election packet.
At Thursday's convention, Cardinal Impact announced junior photojournalism major Nick Turner as its replacement for Cody Willis, former treasurer candidate who resigned Wednesday.
Pretell-Vazquez said the third slate at Thursday's convention, Cardinal Coalition, was denied because one of its members didn't meet a requirement involving credit hours.
SGA President Frank Hood said the member was ineligible because he had not spent three semesters as a full-time Ball State University student.
According to the SGA Elections Code to be eligible to run for election students must have completed at least 45 credit hours and spent at least three semesters as a full-time Ball State student.
Pretell-Vazquez said if Cardinal Coalition wants to replace its ineligible member, it will be considered a late entry and must wait until Monday to begin campaigning.
Cardinal Coalition presidential candidate Kerri Cropper said the mistake will be fixed, and the problem was just confusion about the credit hours the ineligible member had. She declined to comment on which member failed to meet requirements. The slate plans to find a replacement for the ineligible member and re-submit its election packet by Sunday.
"We will be back on Monday," Cropper said. "Our slate is strong and we will be competing again."
After nominations, each accepted slate was given 10 minutes to introduce members and field questions from the audience.
Cardinal Impact was nominated first and was first to answer questions.
The slate's presidential candidate, Beth Cahill, said Cardinal Impact's platform was divided into six groups: academics, diversity, school pride, transportation, services and Cardinal Call.
According to the slate's platform Cardinal Call will work to make SGA more accessible and approachable.
The slate specifically addressed residence hall issues. As SGA's Residence Hall Association liaison, Cahill said Cardinal Impact would work closely with RHA to make necessary changes.
Diversity also was brought up. Secretary candidate Carson Lance said the slate had a "diversity forum" with several multicultural groups on campus. He began to describe a community service idea from the meetings when time was called.
Cahill said the slate was passionate about every issue and has been preparing its platform for several months.
She said the second convention went well and she is excited about having competition because it's better for students.
"It's a fresh start," Cahill said. "We're campaigning as a new slate."
The competition at this point is Cardinal Collaboration.
The slate's presidential candidate, Nathan Meeks, said Cardinal Collaboration hasn't determined the specifics of its platform, but it will focus on openness, honesty and integrity. He said those issues would improve SGA's approachability.
To illustrate his point, Meeks gave the audience his cell phone number and e-mail address and said he'd be more than happy to answer any question students have about the slate. His cell phone number is 765-717-9953. His e-mail address is ndmeeks@bsu.edu.
Meeks said he put the slate together after reading about the lack of student interest and the situation after the first nomination convention.
"To be honest with you I thought the students of Ball State deserve better," he said. "If my opponent can't get 400 signatures, what good are they?"
Cardinal Collaboration felt rushed, Meeks said, because it only had a few days to prepare the election packet. He said that hadn't affected the quality of the slate or its platform ideas.
He said the slate has a "realistic sense" of what needs to be done and a plan to do it.
The slate is in the process of putting together the platform for the debates, he said.
Pretell-Vazquez said he was excited for the election season because candidates and students are showing a lot of interest. He said the slates gave informative introductions before taking questions from the crowd.
"I think it's going to be really exciting," he said. "It's good for students to have these different slates running."
Hood also said he was excited for the election because if Cardinal Coalition finds a replacement three slates will run for the first time in 12 years.
He said he hoped the election season goes well but it still has 12 days left. Hood said he was concerned most with a possible lack of slates. He's happy it wasn't a problem, he said.
Slate MembersCardinal Impact:President-Beth CahillVice President-Mandy MillsTreasurer-Nick TurnerSecretary-Carson Lance
Cardinal CollaborationPresident-Nathan MeeksVice President-Alyson TennantTreasurer-Tony DalesandroSecretary-Megan Kirschner
Cardinal CoalitionPresident-Kerri CropperVice President-Michelle VossTreasurer-William GarnesSecretary-Damon Clevenger
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