Voting results for the LUCC representatives of residential areas became official Monday night.
Newly elected students will serve as representatives for their residential district for the remainder of the academic calendar year. Reps attended their first LUCC meeting Wednesday morning.
In contrast with officers, who are elected in the second week of Winter Term and serve through the same term of the following year, reps act as liaisons between LUCC and the students of their district, representing residents’ needs in LUCC meetings and reporting LUCC decisions to hall councils.
Each representative is meant to serve approximately 100 students. The student body is roughly divided into seven districts based on residence.
Two representatives serve each district, with the exception of the quad district, which is represented by one student, and the Hiett/Ormsby district, where responsibilities are shared by three students.
This year, the most contested campaign was in the Hiett/Ormsby district, where eight candidates competed for the three available positions. The Colman/Brokaw, Trever and Kohler districts also saw competition for positions.
This year marks the second year that each district’s representative seats have been filled.
Polling, Elections and Leadership Committee chair Jay Dansand commented that the Quad district had the highest voter turnout that he can remember and that “turnout this year speaks well for the trend of student involvement.”
In the past, LUCC has had difficulty finding enough students to fill all positions, and many students are still questioning the commitment on campus toward Lawrence government.
Newly elected Sage representative Jacob Ruben expresses some concern about “student apathy” regarding elections. He adds, “What people might not realize is that LUCC has a lot of power to improve their experience here at Lawrence.”
Kohler representative James Duncan-Welke, who also served as LUCC rep for Colman/Brokaw district last year, points out that interest in LUCC waned in many representatives last year, leaving districts unrepresented.
However, apart from apprehensions, LUCC reps this year look forward to taking advantage of the opportunities that a student-run government provides.
Duncan-Welke calls attention to the unique possibilities that LUCC offers. “Very few colleges have a campus government that allows the student body to be as intimately involved in its own affairs as at Lawrence.”
He goes on to cite numerous policies that LUCC implemented last year, including the addition of co-ed by room housing in Sage and the decision to lock dormitories around the clock.
“At many other colleges, those decisions would have been handed down from on high by the Dean of Students or some other completely out-of-touch administrator.”
Other representatives also look forward to their new duties. Sage rep Zach Becker hopes to help “create a more unified atmosphere between the community council and the hall councils” and focus on issues that will “affect the day-to-day lives of Lawrence students.”
Quad rep Matt Yauch wants to better represent “the voice of the Quad” in LUCC. “I’m eager and excited to get the ball rolling for the Quad again,” he adds.
LUCC reps elected for 2006-2007
