More than 70 students have tossed their names in the hat for 50 seats on the Minnesota Student Association this year, including 6 candidates for president and vice president. The All-Campus Elections Commission released candidates’ names Friday for next year’s MSA, the University’s only undergraduate student government.
Student elections will be held March 21 and 22 at five polling stations on campus and via the Internet on the elections commission’s Web site.
The elections commission will hold a debate between presidential hopefuls and their running mates on March 15 at Murphy Hall.
“We want to make sure (the candidates) will get the same amount of time to speak to everyone,” said elections commission member Choua Lee, a journalism freshman.
In the list provided by the elections commission, the presidential candidates address a number of issues, such as campus safety, a more personal representation of students in MSA and MSA support for student activities.
With this year’s group of candidates, current MSA President and management junior Ben Bowman said the candidate pool grows larger every year.
“I think more people are tuned in to what MSA can do,” Bowman said. “They realized that MSA is a good vehicle for change on campus, and other people want the job.”
However, the candidates need to make their candidacy known to the students, Bowman said.
“They need to meet a lot of people,” he said. “Endorsements are nice, but the one who goes out to talk to the most students and convinces them to vote will win hands down.”

Raiza Beltran covers student life and student government. She can be reached at [email protected] or 627-4070 x3225.