More than 60 years ago, a parade of cars and floats made its way through downtown Wichita Falls as part of the beginning of homecoming traditions. Ten years later, with the addition of a torchlight parade and bonfire, homecoming grew. The events culminated in the growing of homecoming royalty, a king and queen.
However, two years ago students used ID-numbers of other students to vote for the candidates they wanted to win, calling into question the final results and the entire election process. Afterwards, Student Government Association officials changed the process, moving the system behind the portal, requiring students to log into the same system they use for grades and online classes.
Rebecca Stogner, president of the Student Government Association, said, “The portal has worked great last year so we are continuing to use it.”
Stogner said, “So far there have not been any problems so we are hoping for the same results this year, too.”
To vote for a nominee, students have to log on to their MSU portal where all of their personal information is located. Finance, grades, and other personal information are all in a student’s portal.
That can be a better chance for students to not give out that information.
Stogner said, “The precautions were taken place last year since everyone knew that people would be spectacle of students voting.”
Stogner said, “I find it highly improbable of someone willing to give that information out.”
When voting for a nominee, their GPA, community service and recommendation letters are not on the portal for students to see what the nominees have done. When voting, if students could see what each nominee has made on the ballot, it could help when students are choosing who to vote for.
Stogner said, “This information and the other things that play into the results are not on the portal when one votes because it is judged by the Elections committee in SGA.”
Nominees in each year classification have to meet a certain GPA requirement. Stogner said everyone on the ballot has made the requirements. This step seems to help when choosing nominees since the GPA requirements have increased since 2012.
The SGA staff said that they felt like the election ran smoothly last year, but students are still a little curious if another fraud election could happen again.
Jennifer Endsley, exercise physiology senior and Sigma kappa alumna, said that she feels like it “might happen again this year but it is less likely to happen since it is through the portal.”
One of Endsley’s concern is that there is “basically maybe one extra step,” this year, versus how voting used to be in 2012.
Students have posted about the homecoming elections through Twitter and Facebook to let students know when they can vote and why. Social media has been a way Taylor Courtney, radiology junior and Sigma Kappa princess nominee, has kept in touch with students who could potentially vote for her.
Courtney said, “I use Twitter the most just to remind everyone how to vote and what day it closes.”
Courtney is trying different ways to get her name out to students to vote for her. Courtney is part of a Facebook page that adds students to join the group, reminders of when the voting ends, and of course to “vote for Taylor Courtney.”
Stogner said, “The standards are higher now. The nominees are judged based on their community services, GPA, recommendation letters, more than just popularity and looks.”
Courtney said, when it comes to the voting two years ago, “in my own opinion that incident was blown out of proportion.”
Courtney said, “That’s really all I have to say about it,” choosing to not elaborate why she felt that way.
Cory Battista, business freshman, said, “I will be more likely to vote since it is online unlike at my old school were we had to vote in person.”
