The Student Government Association’s (SGA) presidential election ballot form issued on campus during the voting period had three questions calling for campus reform. As of last week, all of these proposals have been passed by popular vote.

Two of the questions were implemented by the new on-campus, non-partisan organization, Advancing Democracy. The first question asked students whether or not Your Campus Meal Plan (YCMP) swipes should be exercised at the People’s Market, a student-run business located in the Student Union.

“Someone from Advancing Democracy came down yesterday to our meeting and told us that all three questions passed with flying colors,” said University of Massachusetts senior and People’s Market employee Lisa Gozbekian. “But, we do need to still carry out some presentations with the administration. Some work still needs to be done.”

“The YCMP swipes passed by 96 percent,” said Advancing Democracy founder and UMass junior Steve Hoeschele. “That is an incredible margin, and the students at the People’s Market are willing to come and see this to fruition.”

When asked how this new change will affect the People’s Market and UMass students, Gozbekian said, “We will be able to provide more for our customers. Many who have the YCMP swipes don’t actually use them, and now they can use them here at the People’s Market. It’s also very exciting because it brings in more of our peers.”

The second question on the ballot form presented students with an optional $3 fee per semester. The fee aims to fund Advancing Democracy’s campaigning, lobbying, internships, and other campus-related activities that promote election reform.

“We still have a lot of work to do on the actual fee itself,” Hoeschele said. “We need to meet with administrators, chancellors, and the system-wide president. At some point down in the line, the proposal needs to get down to the Board of Trustees, as they are the final authority.”

Many UMass students weren’t opposed to the fee, although steadily climbing student charges have become a topic of frequent debate at the University.

“If it just $3, it is not a big difference,” said freshman chemistry major John Freal. “As long as it says $3 and doesn’t go up.”

“I selected ‘Yes’ for this fee because it is for a legitimate cause. The fact that it is optional made me think, ‘Why not?” said freshman Marjorie Connolly, a history major.

With many of their funding problems solved through the approval of this fee, Advancing Democracy looks toward the future at UMass.

“We’ve been talking about doing a few campus activities,” said Hoeschele. “In the fall, we plan to get a debate going between the Republican Club and the University Democrats. I think that would be really interesting. I don’t think there has been a debate between them so far.”

The final ballot question asked students to support or reject the proposal of changes created by a group of student leaders and administration following the student strike organized by the United Student Action Coalition in November.

The compromise includes plans for student fees, cost of higher education, diversity programming, and campus safety concerns.

“It [the proposal] means we get to negotiate,” UMass senior and SGA Trustee Ruth Thompson said when asked to explain the impact of the proposal. “In the past, chancellors have ignored us. In addition to being listened to, we now have the opportunity to get things done.”

In commenting on the general outcome of the ballot approvals, Gozbekian stated, “For me, this event shows that people are interested in matters that are going on,” Gozbekian said. “Even though there was a low number of a vote, people were involved. In the future, maybe we will be able to add more ballot questions that affect the campus and students.”

Lisa DeBenedictis can be reached at [email protected].

Shruti Sehgal can be reached at [email protected].