Marquette students have another chance to vote in a presidential primary — the Marquette Student Government primary, that is.
Today students may vote until 10 p.m. for two of the five tickets running for the positions of MUSG president and executive vice president, according to sophomore Brad Held, MUSG elections coordinator.
Results from the primary will be available after 2 p.m. Friday on the MUSG Web site and in the MUSG office window. The two tickets that win the primary will then be in next Thursday's general election.
Voting was scheduled to begin at midnight and can only be done online, at musg.mu.edu/vote, Held said. Students need their Marquette ID and personal access code to vote.
The tickets are: College of Business Administration juniors John Cooney and Mary McCarthy; College of Arts & Sciences senior Mike Ford and College of Engineering senior Kevin Johnson; College of Health Sciences junior Tim Lefeber and College of Arts & Sciences junior Emily Rostkowski; College of Arts & Sciences juniors Sean McGuire and Tom Hanson; and College of Arts & Sciences sophomore Michael Styke and College of Business Administration junior Robert Rudolph.
Two issues take prevalence in the platforms of this year's campaigners — making students aware of MUSG's work and student safety.
Cooney and McCarthy said publicity is a big focus of their campaign, and they hope to increase awareness of what MUSG and other student organizations do by possibly teaming up with The Marquette Tribune Online Department to send out weekly e-mails of upcoming events within student organizations.
They would like to extend LIMO service to downtown locations during the weekend for students who do not feel comfortable riding the bus, which they say would increase Marquette's presence in Milwaukee.
Ford and Johnson said students shouldn't have to be told what MUSG is doing but should see the results. They said their initiatives to bring free and legal file-sharing to students, to make the U-PASS optional and changing dorm visitation policies can speak for themselves.
As for student safety, they said more Blue Light Phones and DPS officers are not the answer. Ford and Johnson propose to work with the surrounding community to support area economic development, by way of MUSG financial, legislative and volunteer support. They hope to support DPS's victim services program, either financially or by passing resolutions.
Lefeber and Rostkowski said they would like to increase awareness of all student organizations by making better use of Alumni Memorial Union space to boost visibility. They also are working on setting up several information kiosks near the academic buildings for student organizations publicity.
They said they will post signs on Blue Light Phones that describe their possible uses so students know the phones are not only meant for emergency situations. Other goals include reviving neighborhood watch programs with DPS and giving DPS safety programs more prominent exposure on Marquette's Web site to increase student awareness.
McGuire and Hanson said they want to include students in everything they do and every decision they make. They propose to do this by meeting face-to-face with students by holding town hall-style meetings where they can field student questions.
They would like to improve LIMO effectiveness by either adding more LIMOs or changing routes. They said expanding LIMO service downtown is ridiculous because LIMOs are needed on campus. They would like to establish a neighborhood watch program, install more Blue Light Phones for off-campus students and help initiate better communication about all the safety programs DPS has to offer students.
Styke and Rudolph propose to hold more open forums for student concerns in the AMU. They said they want students to be more comfortable approaching MUSG by inviting students to an open forum right away, if elected. Their goal is to talk to students on a one-on-one basis.
More student knowledge about safety is key, they said, especially for freshman at orientation. They are considering a mandatory safety forum during orientation and emphasize the danger of students walking alone at night. They would also like LIMOs to run during later hours, especially during the weekend.
The Residence Hall Association is also holding its election today for the positions of president and vice president. Students may vote on the same ballot as the MUSG primary, Held said.
College of Arts & Sciences freshman Jason Curtis is the only candidate for president, and College of Business Administration freshman Ashley Beckner and College of Arts & Sciences freshman Kaitlin Connor are running for vice president.
Beckner said RHA's current large-scale programming does not include any events that capture diversity, which she said she would like to begin if elected.
Connor said she hopes to be very involved in Late Night programs, events she said she considers very important, especially with the high student participation this year.
Curtis could not be reached for comment.