Only 557 total eligible votes were submitted in Marquette University Student Government election, which represents 7.4 percent of the 7,527 eligible voters.
A total of 612 students submitted votes for the election on Wednesday, 55 of which were invalid due to duplicate votes, ineligible voters or abstentions. The 557 total eligible votes cast is significantly less than the 1,111 votes last year and 724 votes in 2004.
MUSG officials believed the low turnout rate was "unusual" and attributed it to elections being "less competitive due to the fewer candidates on the ticket," according to Aliy Lane, MUSG communications vice president and College of Communication senior.
The 7.4 percent may be skewed a little, according to Jon Dooley, assistant dean of student development, because the total number of eligible voters included students living in Mashuda Hall and commuter students — groups that did not have students running for office.
Despite the lack of student involvement in the elections, all six senators interviewed said the elections went well, and they are looking forward to the upcoming year.
"While voter turnout was low I am very excited to be able to represent the residents of Straz," said Liz Driscoll, newly elected Straz Tower senator and College of Health Sciences freshman.
The elections resulted in 14 new senators joining MUSG with four more to be appointed by the residence hall councils and the Commuter Student Association.
After being elected, new senators along with old left for Camp Minikani in Hubertus, approximately 30 miles northwest of Milwaukee, for an MUSG retreat. Senators discussed goals for the year and attempted to "get focused," according to Stephanie Stopka, newly elected Cobeen Hall senator and College of Business Administration freshman.
Each department of MUSG created goals for itself and for MUSG as a whole. The five goals of MUSG this year include improving internal communication, seeking feedback from the community, hearing and acknowledging all views, holding itself accountable and challenging the administration when decisions are made that do not reflect the sentiments of the students.
"The retreat was exactly what we were hoping it would be," said Dan Calandriello, MUSG president and College of Business Administration senior. "The new senators got to get a feel for what is really important to students and to start making plans for how to make change on campus. There will definitely be challenges ahead, but we're off to the right start."
The senate has set the goal of producing at least one piece of effective legislation each week, most immediately addressing the suspension of the South Africa study abroad program.
"We don't want to just write legislation but we want to write legislation that actively and accurately reflects the sentiments of the students, and is regarding the topics that matter to students, such as the South Africa program suspension," said Brock Banks, MUSG legislative vice president and College of Arts & Sciences junior.
Calandriello said the senators should adjust to their new responsibilities quickly.
"It takes a little while to get acclimated to the ins and outs of Marquette, but we will be doing our best to get them doing the work their constituents need them to do right away," Calandriello said. "That is why MUSG is here — to work for the students and no one else."