The ASEWU general election will be held on May 6, and unlike last year, candidates are trying to bring students to the polls without the help of Macklemore.

ASEWU director of elections Samuel Adams has been spending long days trying to lure students’ attention toward the election, and he believes it has the potential to improve the university in ways students may be unaware of.

The primary election was held on April 22. Only two people from this year’s ASEWU staff will be seeking re-election: President D.j. Jigre, and Kyle Dodson of Athletic Affairs and University Advancement.

Ten other ASEWU positions are up for grabs.

“If students took the time and really paid attention to who they are voting for and elected individuals who are charismatic and had initiative for next year, I think there is the potential to get a lot of stuff done,” Adams said.

Last year, students were awarded tickets to a Macklemore concert if they voted for ASEWU representatives. Adams has leaned on more conventional methods of getting the word out this year, such as posters and picket signs strategically placed around campus. Candidates have also visited residence halls and interacted with students.

As part of the May 6 general election, students will also get to vote on whether they think the PUB should be remodeled or not. This should be enough to bring students to the polls this time around, Adams said.

Josh Ashcroft, chief housing officer of Housing and Residential Life on campus, remembers running for ASEWU executive vice president in 1999. Then, the student government was working on bringing dial-up internet onto campus, among other things. From his experience, he said student government plays a critical role in advocating for students.

“Their voice is one of the most important voices on campus,” Ashcroft said.

Adams understands that many people do not see the value in voting for student government but believes students would think differently if they saw the work ASEWU did behind the scenes.

He cited three projects ASEWU has worked on this school year. For one, they gathered student sentiment on the potential switch to a semester system and presented the results to the board of trustees. They also are continuing to work on extending the JFK Library hours and are seeking students’ opinion on the potential remodeling of the PUB.

Adams hopes voters will learn about candidates before voting, instead of picking someone based on superficial judgement, such as an easy name, something he has personally seen happen to him when he ran for a council position in student services in 2010. Although he expected a wider margin of defeat to his popular opponent, he only lost by 50 votes. He suspects that students saw the name “Samuel Adams” and checked his name without giving any further consideration.

Ashcroft said students should keep their eyes out for authentic candidates who have a vision.

Crystal Medina, who is now director of community relations for the Spokane Shock arena football team, won the 2009 and 2010 elections for a council position in student services. She said the experience she gained working at ASEWU helped her immensely with her current job, and she explained that ASEWU makes a lot of important decisions.

“I think there’s a lot of things that people don’t know, like how much power we really [did] have,” Medina said.

She said voters should look for someone who is open-minded and can work well with others. But most importantly, they should be passionate for their school.

Students can vote at various polling booths around the Cheney campus on election day, or they can go to http://www.vote.ewu.edu to cast their ballot.

“The people who have done best in student government truly have a passion for the job,” Medina said.

For the primary election results, click here.