Marquette University Student Government officially postponed its spring 2020 elections to the fall semester, according to a Facebook post shared Tuesday.
The new election date for the president, executive vice president and academic senator positions is now slated to occur Sept. 17, with the newly elected representatives to take office Sept. 21.
“It came to our attention that not only was a virtual election logistically challenging, potentially minimizing the interaction between candidates and the undergraduate voting committee, but some candidates would have been at a disadvantage due to COVID-19’s personal impact on themselves and their families,” MUSG said in the Facebook post.
The decision was made by the elections coordinator, who consulted the executive board, according to a university news release. The current elections coordinator is Jimmy Carlton, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences.
MUSG President Sara Manjee will remain in her position until the election, while MUSG Executive Vice President Dan Brophy will remain in his position until he graduates this May, “at which point President Manjee will determine whether to appoint an acting EVP until the fall election,” according to the Facebook post.
Manjee and Brophy’s term was originally set to expire April 1 of this year.
This is the second time MUSG has postponed the elections. When the university made its initial decision to suspend in-person classes until April 10, the elections were postponed to April 23.
After Marquette’s decision to suspend classes for the rest of the semester March 24, Carlton told the Marquette Wire that MUSG was deliberating between keeping the April 23 election date in place — which would have made the campaign process entirely virtual — and postponing the election entirely until the 2020 fall semester.
Manjee and Brophy both referred to MUSG’s statement in response to the Wire’s request for interviews.
This story was written by Nick Magrone. He can be reached at [email protected].
