Election season at Florida A&M University is underway, with more rules and regulations than before.FAMU’s Electoral Commission (EC) has implemented a new requirement for anyone interested in becoming a candidate for all candidates running for office.
According to Famu Elections on Instagram, potential candidates must complete and pass the Evaluation of Candidacy test with a score of 70% or higher to move forward. Candidates were to pass the test before submitting their candidacy packets, due today at 6 p.m.
The test was available to be taken in person, and there was a retake policy of an attempt being completed one business day after the previous one.
This new requirement for FAMU candidates is a piece of legislation passed last spring by former Student Government Association(SGA) Chairman Jaylin Hankerson-Strappy.
Hankerson-Strappy explained that the bill (SB24SP-004; No Leader Left Behind) was initially proposed in 2022 but was rejected by the Senate.
“…they felt as though it was stopping people from running… and they were trying to run with that basis…,” said Hankerson-Strappy.
He explained that this was not proposed to deter students from running but to ensure they knew the full extent of their prospective positions.
“We had a few issues with senate…where the newly elected Senators [may not] have known the full extent of their duties… we wanted to make sure that the students had the trust in the back of their head that these… elected student leaders [know] their duties,” said Hankerson-Strappy.
He went on to detail how many senators previously put into office and trained needed to be re-trained on multiple occasions by himself and the Internal Development Committee(IDC).
This also raises questions about students’ intent to run for specific positions and their motives.
“I thought it was doing the student body a disservice just to run because you know you can, versus knowing that you want to run,” said Hankerson-Strappey.
He also believes this correlates directly to the Senate seat retention rate declining as Senator moves through their college career.
“It’s doing the Senate a disservice because now they have to put some of their resources and energies into looking for new candidates when our main job is to advocate for the student body,” said Hankerson-Strappy.
This test was not given to potential candidates without any study material to go off of, either; Hankerson-Strappey’s bill also included informationals in which students could learn more information about these positions.
“… the EC was to host sessions where they’re actually informing these potential candidates before they even click the decare button… they are giving you the information,” said Hankerson-Strappy.
This bill(being passed in the spring of 2024) was supposed to be upheld in the Fall of 2024 for freshman Senators and the Miss Freshman position but faced a bit of neglect after Hankerson-Strappy Graduated.
“It took the efforts of Chairwoman Sims… I contacted her [because] I was like, I don’t see the test for fall semester… she said there was pushback from administration,” Hankerson-Strappy said. “The bill says it was supposed to take effect fall of 2024…. But now it’s happening… next fall you’ll have to take that test.”
He stressed the importance of taking this test from a campaign perspective. To win their seats, many students will propose different platform points that may resonate with students but are not attainable in their positions.
“The platform points literally can’t happen, but you made these platform points because sometimes you just don’t know the full scope of your duties,” Hankerson-Strappy said.
Hankerson-Strappy believes this bill will push SGA’s true agenda forward and make for a more solid student government.