Student Association’s lack of invitation to the write-in candidates running for office to its election forum is unwise. This decision perpetuates the stigma of exclusivity often associated with SA.

Currently SA’s election forum, which will take place on April 12, will only host running-mates Aysha Seedat and Jane Hong, who are campaigning for president and vice president, respectively. AJ Abell and Johnathan Dawson, who are campaigning as write-in candidates, will not be invited to SA’s election forum. Abell and Dawson, who are not a part of SA, did not submit their petitions by SA’s deadline. Therefore, the candidates are not officially recognized and will not be on the ballot.

While it makes sense that SA would not recognize Abell and Dawson because they did not follow the set guidelines, the pair should still be invited to a debate. Seeing as the election forum will only have one pair of candidates, it’s unlikely to stir up a lot of public interest, and essentially defeats its purpose. Because of this, SA should extend an invitation to Abell and Dawson.

A debate between the candidates will allow students to make an informed decision when selecting who should represent them. Hosting a debate between the two pairs of running mates would also likely help increase voter turnout. Last year when there were three candidates running for president there was a total of 4,411 votes cast, which set a new record. A debate would not only serve the student body, it would also benefit the best-qualified candidate.

SA is doing a disservice to the undergraduate population and it is making a statement contradictory to its current president’s platform by not including the write in candidates. When Boris Gresely ran for SA president in the fall of 2013, he criticized SA for being too “SA-centric.” His administration’s decision to host an election forum with only the candidates SA recognizes epitomizes the very problem he was trying to address.

In addition to continuing an exclusive message, inviting only one pair of candidates makes it seem as though the write-ins have already lost. It is necessary to host a debate between all the candidates, those officially recognized or otherwise.