By Shelby Peck | Staff Writer
When students cast their vote for student government leadership, some don’t realize write-in ballots can actually earn people a seat. Two write-in elected juniors were surprised to see their names in the junior senate results after running no campaign.
Thirteen voters elected Saint Paul, Minn., junior Ben Marsh as a write-in candidate to the 2023-2024 junior senate. Marsh, an environmental science major with no previous experience in student government, was called by a friend who informed him of his unexpected victory.
“I was actually in Tennessee at the time because we had a [Baylor Crew] race out there this weekend, and I got a call from Logan [Lee] and he’s like, ‘Uh, Ben, you should go check the Baylor student government Instagram. You got elected into senate,’” Marsh said.
At first, Marsh thought Lee was lying, because he hadn’t run a campaign. But after checking the results, he realized he came in tenth, securing a seat.
Student Senate is the legislative branch of Student Government. The group of senators work to advocate on behalf of Baylor students and voice their different opinions.
“As I step into this role, I am filled with hope for the future. I believe that our Junior Class has the power to create positive change, and I am committed to being a voice for our fellow students. Together, we can build a brighter tomorrow, where every student’s voice is heard and valued,” Marsh said in an Instagram post April 14.
While Marsh said he has yet to form specific policies for which he will advocate, he wants to provide funding to club sports and represent Baylor students with “integrity, fairness and dedication.”
Nacogdoches junior Logan Lee, the friend who called Marsh to inform him of his victory, was also elected as a write-in candidate to junior senate. Having previously served in senate as finance chair, Lee chose not to run this year because of his plans to study in Washington, D.C., next semester.
Marsh and Lee met the summer before their freshman year and attended a concert on their first day of classes at Baylor. Since then, they have made it a tradition to attend a concert every year during Welcome Week, seeing artists like the Lumineers. Their friendship has held the “running joke” that Marsh should join senate, but neither of them expected events to unfold like this.
“I can’t do it, but I’m cheering Ben on and any student that wants to fill a vacancy,” Lee said. “I mean, you only have to be a Baylor student to be qualified to be in the senate, and so it doesn’t matter what your major is or how many votes you got. If you won, you won fair and square.”
Lee said the three vacancies in junior senate will most likely be filled through an application and interview-based process overseen by the newly-elected internal vice president. He said the vacancies were not “unexpected” because of the “turnover every year.”
“I’ve really loved serving in student government, but I think that the culture has definitely changed over the last year so that could be a reason why people aren’t wanting to come back, specifically in my class,” Lee said.
While student government is a “serious thing,” Lee said those involved sometimes become so serious they forget they’re a student. Having a non-traditional student elected when vacancies exist may be a way to increase representation for “an entire different group on campus.”
Marsh said overall, he is excited for his future career in senate, although he is uncertain of what it may entail. He said he hopes to advocate for science majors in particular, as he feels they are underrepresented and said he wants to remember he is a student and person first that is “technically in student government.”
“I’ve always said that I was going to run for office someday, it’s just that I didn’t know I’d be elected before I ran,” Marsh said. “That’s always one of those things where life really comes at you and you just got to adapt.”
