The trend of notoriously low participation in past student government has marked Binghamton University campus politics. Instances range from the 92 people who turned out for last week’s referendum vote to the fewer than 2,000 students who voted in the Student Association’s e-board elections last March.

Out of 11,000 students enrolled at BU, less than 1,700 students voted.

Among the other oddities of last year’s election was that more students voted in the SA election for the vice president for multicultural affairs (VPMA) than in the SA’s presidential election. While only 1,605 students voted for president, 1,630 voiced their preference for the VPMA.

‘Last year the presidential candidates could’ve done a better job with creating bonds with the students,’ said current Vice President for Multicultural Affairs David Bass. He won a run-off against then-incumbent J. Nathaniel Reed, who dropped out of the hotly contested race before the election.

Bass and Reed netted 796 and 803 votes, respectively.

Bass added, ‘Reed and I had strong personalities and the candidates weren’t faceless, but they could’ve reached for more students out of their circle.’

The most active residential community in last year’s election was College-in-the-Woods, where 366 students voted for the SA president. Newing College came in second with 247 votes.

The least active community was Hinman College with 185 votes.

‘In general, I think CIW has a lot of active students,’ Bass said. ‘The CIW Council is among the most active as far as programming and getting students excited about student government.’

It remains to be seen whether Belsky or Bass, who are competing for SA president, will stir up excitement and more votes with their aggressive campaign. Reed, however, feels the SA has much to do if they want to get more students to vote.

‘This year’s administration has done very little as far as connecting with the students,’ Reed said. ‘Politics on campus has been an inside sport that has removed the student body.’

Reed added, ‘The candidates would have a better chance of winning if they promote the elections rather than themselves.’

The SA presidential debates will be on Feb. 28 on WHRW 90.5 FM. Elections will start on March 5 and end on March 6.