As a former Student Government presidential candidate, I was ecstatic to read that the races for SGA President and five other Executive Council offices will be uncontested in this election. In retrospect, I feel the biggest reason I lost the 2012 election was because other candidates chose to run against me.

In an ideal world, I would have assumed office after filling out my application for candidacy, but, unfortunately, I was forced to argue my position on issues facing the campus, answer questions about my plans for the University and persuade students to vote for me based on my qualifications. What a crock.

As the Machine Candidate (super secret shout out to all you fellow machines out there!), the 2012 Election was supposed to be a lock for me. I was told by my constituents that the voting bloc (which definitely doesn’t exist, for all of you non-Machine voters out there) was behind me. Yet, on March 6th the will of the Machine was undone, and I was defeated by Matt Calderone and his unprecedented outpouring of independent support.

Thankfully, there is no chance that this sort of chaos will ensue in the 2013 SGA elections. There are no other candidates running for the office of President, which means there will be no one to impede the will of the Machine this year.

Jimmy Taylor will be our new SGA President, and he will assume the position with as little effort as one might wish to use when assuming said position. He, along with the other five unopposed executive candidates, will not be forced to engage in a debate with other candidates, answer difficult questions from concerned voters or pretend the Machine has no control over election results.

This is progress! President Bonner, I think this qualifies as a “Celebrating Achievement” moment. I await your email.

Shea Stripling is a senior majoring in English. She was a 2012 SGA Presidential Candidate.

Leading in today’s Crimson White:

[Letter to the Editor] Attacks leveled at University are misguided

Women’s golf team finishes 7th at Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate

[Opinion] Students need to be comfortable in their own bodies