Ever wonder why you see the same faces year after year in student government?
It may be because after freshman year, few people run who aren't already in office.
Last year, the presidential candidates for the classes of 2007 and 2008 ran unopposed. Several positions, such as treasurer for the Class of 2007 and College representative for the Class of 2009 even remained vacant, with no contenders vying for their spots. They had to be filled by an application process this fall.
And the current Undergraduate Assembly chairman didn't even have any competition when he ran to be the leader of student government last year.
Low levels of competition are not unique to student government - the vast majority of those elected to the U.S. House of Representatives are incumbents.
Although some of the likely reasons behind the UA's high incumbency rate are similar to those on the national level, other causes seem particular to college students.
Political Science professor John Lapinski said that incumbents running for both national and student office have the advantage of greater name recognition and prominence among voters.
In fact, freshmen seeking a place in student government usually face stiff competition, particularly this year. The races for freshman elections last month were some of the most competitive in recent memory. There were 32 percent more candidates than in the past year, 70 in total.
But once the thrill of getting elected to office freshman year fades, running for student government isn't even on many sophomores' radar screens.
"I just didn't think about it," said Jocelyn Dillon, a Wharton sophomore and former freshman vice president for corporate sponsorship candidate.
Dillon added that she initially ran for student government because she was "in student government in high school and wanted to carry over."
But she now believes it's likely she will never run again.
Other former candidates cited busy schedules as the reason they did not try again for elected office.
"I feel a lot of people ran because they wanted to get involved," College sophomore and one-time presidential candidate Jordan Cohen said. "But I know I got involved in other activities [sophomore year] and really didn't have time."
Current student-government leaders admit that they have a relatively easy time getting back into office once they've served as freshmen.
UA member and College junior Sunny Patel said that elections simply "weren't extremely competitive."
He pointed out that only 19 people ran for 16 UA College representative positions last spring, guaranteeing that most of those who wanted a spot got one.
Patel also pointed out that incumbents generally "already have their name out there" as well as accomplishments and connections that help them get re-elected easily.
UA member and College sophomore Wilson Tong believes it's primarily incumbents' accomplishments that lets them get re-elected.
"I think they address issues that students care about," said Wilson.
He added that while a lot of the work of getting elected is establishing name recognition, "letting [people] know that you can address their concerns, that's the most important thing."
