Campus life is beginning to find its footing in an age of quarantine and social distancing. This term, despite classes being online and campus operations being limited, ASUO intends to continue with their annual elections on time.

“The 2020 ASUO Elections will be held as scheduled from April 6-10 with any runoffs occurring April 13-15,” Zack Johnson, ASUO elections coordinator said in an email. “All Ground Campaigning events hosted by the Elections Board have been cancelled.”

One of the bigger events during this time is the executive presidential debate where students have the opportunity to ask candidates questions and hear each candidate’s voice. Historically, the debates have been a time wherein candidates are able to lay out their vision for ASUO’s upcoming year. In light of the circumstances this year, the formatting of the debate is still uncertain, despite polls opening in less than a week.

“The April 2 Candidate Debate will be held, either via video or via a Q&A-style email blast sent from me, as opposed to an on-campus event,” Johnson said.

Johnson later confirmed that a Q&A style questionnaire for each candidate would be published on the Voter Guide website in the coming weeks.

Students will be able to vote on DuckWeb between April 6-10. Social media campaigning for the candidates has already begun. Students can find out who is running for which positions on the ASUO Voter Guide website.

The ground campaigning events are not the only ASUO-related events that have been cancelled. According to Isaiah Boyd, ASUO senate president, all spring term events and conferences have been cancelled. ASUO student organizations have been notified by ASUO of the current situation.

“As of right now I know some student leaders across the campus are looking into alternative forms for hosting group meetings,” Boyd said. “The university has given access to Microsoft teams and Zoom to all students via their [university] emails.”

Some events that take place annually will not be held. The “Take Back the Night” rally, which aims to show support for survivors of sexual assault, is typically held on the last Thursday of every April. According to Boyd, the event will not take place this year.

“All programming events are likely going to be not possible during this time,” Boyd said. “The senate body has asked that student [organizations] return all programming and admin funds that will not be used during the remote session, given that the state has begun to enforce more efforts to reduce potential spread of the virus.”

According to Boyd, these funds will be sent to the senate surplus at the end of the year. Historically, ASUO’s surpluses have been used to fund events, retreats and offset any deficit that ASUO may face. 

Boyd said that ASUO will likely face a deficit next year. According to Boyd, the ASUO senate will meet Wednesday to discuss potential changes to the budget next year. The surplus for the student groups will likely contribute to offsetting that deficit in some way.