Imaje Harvey conducts uncontested write-in campaign for SA secretary

By Hajera Naveed     2/21/23 11:45pm

Imaje Harvey, a freshman at Sid Richardson College, will be conducting a write-in campaign for Student Association secretary — a position for which no candidates were previously vying. Solomon Ni, presumptive SA president-elect, announced her write-in candidacy on Monday evening, though there will be no candidates listed on the ballot for the position of secretary. 

Ni said that when he realized no one was running for secretary, he began to look for people he thought would be interested in the role. 

“I think one of the things I am looking forward to this year is being more communicative and more transparent, and having a secretary is pretty important to that specific mission and goal,” Ni, a Jones College sophomore, said.

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Harvey said she became interested in running after being approached by Ni. While hesitant at first, Harvey said she eventually felt inspired to be part of the SA to advocate for change. 

“What really pushed me over the edge is [when Ni] invited me to an [executive] meeting, and I feel like I really appreciate the platform that he has and what he is willing to advocate for next year,” Harvey said. “Like how he is willing to advocate for more diversity, meet people where they are [and] be able to have their opinions heard.”

As part of her goal to improve the student experience, Harvey said she hopes to bring more affordable nearby off-campus housing options for low income students, after her own experiences with finding housing. 

“[Housing] is something that I specifically want to look into, along with just being a resource to students more, especially the different affinity groups like the [Black Student Association], HACER and PRIDE — being able to be a resource to those students,” Harvey said.

Harvey has no previous experience with the SA and said she did not announce her running until now because she was unaware of the ongoing election beforehand. 

Spencer Powers, SA director of elections, said he does not expect Harvey to receive enough write-in votes during the first round of elections. Elected officials are required to receive 50 percent plus one vote of the total ballots cast, a bar typically challenging to clear for write-in candidates.

“We will most likely have a special election immediately afterwards to potentially elect the secretary,” Powers, a Brown College junior, said. 

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