Low Turnout in USS Special Election
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010
A year after the two occupations and a surge in student activism at The New School, student involvement in university affairs has dropped off staggeringly.
In a special election to fill three vacant seats in the USS, only 114 students voted, despite multiple e-mail reminders sent to the entire student body and a long voting period. The election was open from February 3 through 10. The USS is an 18-member student senate that advocates on behalf of the student body, hosts events, and funds student proposals.
Lang, Jazz, and Mannes each had a vacant seat on the USS. Each election was only open to students in that school. One hundred students voted in the Lang election, nine in the Jazz election, and only five students voted for the unchallenged Mannes candidate.
With five votes cast and 381 students at Mannes, only 1.3 percent of the student body voted. Jazz fared better with 3.5 percent of its 253 students voting. Lang, which has a strong political culture, turned out only 6.94 percent of its 1,439 enrolled students.
Although in the past voter turnout has been higher, voter totals are generally low. In the 2009 general election, only 24 Jazz students voted, a turnout of 9.5 percent. In the same election, 224 Lang students voted, bringing turnout up to 15 percent. There was no Mannes candidate.
Peter Cummings, USS co-chair, said that voter turnout was low during this special election because there were so few candidates and less publicity than in general elections. He also said that broader issues like a lack of a university-wide New School community and a general unawareness about the USS stifle political involvement.
"The majority of the school doesn't notice or care what the USS does because the majority of school doesn't know or care what anybody in the school does," Cummings said.
Cummings also said the arts-based divisions of the university tend to be less involved in student government.
Cummings also said the arts-based divisions of the university tend to be less involved in student government.
Corey Mullee beat out four other candidates for the single open Lang seat. Former Jazz senator Ben Fox beat out Ryan Blum-Kryzstal to return to the USS after a semester off. Hajir Sailors ran unopposed for the sole vacant Mannes seat.
Mullee attributed his success to an active get-out-the-vote campaign. In an election where few people vote, the winner is generally the candidate who convinces enough people to vote in the first place.
Mullee attributed his success to an active get-out-the-vote campaign. In an election where few people vote, the winner is generally the candidate who convinces enough people to vote in the first place.
For Mullee, the election was something of a comeback. In 2008, he was arrested arrested for stealing a $30,000 Jasper Johns print from The New School advising center at 64 W. 11th St. The print, "Untitled (American Center)," was returned to the university by the New York Police Department. Mullee's case has not come to trial. He has served no jail time, and the matter has yet to find a resolution in the state courts or with The New School administration.
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