The final applications were submitted May 4 at 4 p.m. by De Anza College students hoping to win one of 30 seats in the De Anza Student Body Senate for the 2012-13 school year.  

Students may have noticed the lawn posters around the De Anza College campus urging them to “run.” For those who decide to take the challenge, May 4 was the deadline for all applications. 

The lawn signs, a new promotional technique, were a contributing factor for the higher number of applicants this year: 58 students applied, a higher number than last year, according to DASB President Arvind Ravichandran.

 “Usually we go to political science classes or the main quad,” Ravichandran said. “So we tried to put these signs all across campus. Some people actually said they saw these signs and that’s why they decided to run.”

Those hoping to run in coalitions, groups of candidates running together on a common platform, had until May 11 to make the decision. There have been past arguments both for and against coalitions, yet election rules still remain to support those who wish to run in coalitions.

“Usually the record is that the largest coalition wins, or take all the senate seats,” said Ravichandran, “[but] for example last year, just to give it a history, there was an independent runner who got the most votes, so it is definitely possible for independent candidates to win.”

Coalitions can reap advantages that independent candidates cannot, like dividing tasks amongst running mates, and spreading messages and platforms more broadly to students across campus. However, Ravichandran said there are still some benefits independent runners have over coalitions, like using the money solely on themselves while members of the coalition have to split financial support evenly. Also, popularity of an independent candidate can still have a chance against a coalition.

Those hoping to become the new De Anza student senators this year will be tested on skills like organization, communicating effective speech, and must pass the Senate Bylaw Test. 

Controversy about the Senate Bylaw Test came up in last year’s complaint meeting, but Ravichandran said the test is not for the purpose of eliminating candidates, but rather to make sure that they are somewhat familiar with the bylaws. Another reason for the simplicity of the test is that there have also been complaints about a language barrier.

“There are different details of it [the bylaw test] that people may not understand, and those are things that people will learn throughout the year,” Ravichandran said, “but the test itself is very simple. Everyone could pass it.” 

You can have your say in the senate elections online on May 21 at www.deanza.edu/studentvote.