Presidential and vice-presidential candidates Weston Bell-Geddes and Erica Wang announced Thursday in an Instagram post that they are withdrawing from the Undergraduate Student Government election. Their withdrawal leaves Hannah Woodworth and Nivea Krishnan as the sole ticket vying for the executive positions.
“We thought we could take our experience with those projects and bring it to USG’s legislative branch, and we quickly came to realize as we got closer and closer and deeper and deeper into the USG elections that we just don’t have the time and resources to dedicate to that,” Bell-Geddes said. “So we chose to withdraw.”
Bell-Geddes, a junior studying interactive entertainment and Wang, a junior studying interactive entertainment and game art, said withdrawing from the race was also necessary to prioritize their physical and mental health.
“We’re still extremely passionate about the issues we see at USC,” Wang said. “Unfortunately, I don’t think we were able to continue campaigning with our other commitments.”
Bell-Geddes and Wang focused their campaign on a variety of issues, including safety, well-being, accessibility, transparency and community-building.
Unless write-in candidates enter the race by the Feb. 11 deadline, Woodworth and Krishnan would secure their positions in the upcoming presidency and vice presidency.
Woodworth, a junior studying journalism, said she was shocked to learn Bell-Geddes and Wang withdrew from the race.
“Since I saw their platform, I was impressed,” Woodworth said. “It actually mirrors a lot of the same points that we make in our own platform, and I thought they were putting on a really great run so far, so I was surprised to see that they withdrew.”
Woodworth said she thinks it’s possible she could still face a write-in candidate, and that anyone who thinks they have a vision for the school and could run for the presidential position should “absolutely do so.”
In regards to whether a single-candidate election is fair, Woodworth said she was ambivalent on the subject.
“I don’t know if fair is the word that I would use, but I would really love if our students had more options,” Woodworth said. “Yes, there’s an allure of running unopposed, however, I’d prefer to have other people running against us to really validate this race.”
Though they are no longer running for a position in USG, Bell-Geddes and Wang said that they plan to advocate for transparency and accountability within the USG in the future.
“I look forward to continuing to spread awareness about USG, including about what projects they’re taking on and stuff like that,” Bell-Geddes said. “Moving forward, I don’t really see myself entering student government.”
Bell-Geddes and Wang issued congratulations to their former opponents, Woodworth and Krishnan, in the event that they remain the sole candidates, saying they looked forward to seeing them implement their campaign points.
Bell-Geddes and Wang said they do not regret their time campaigning despite being disappointed with the withdrawal.
“I still think things like advocacy, signing petitions, just getting out there and trying to enact the change you want to see is always going to be a critical part of seeing change,” Wang said.
Bell-Geddes said he would continue to stay involved by attending public USG meetings and keeping up with the organization’s process in the future while promoting his campaign points of accessibility and accountability, transparency and equity.” Wang echoed this sentiment.
“I think our strengths would play more into sort of advocating for change on a community level, getting involved, not really in the administrative level,” Wang said.
Voting for both the presidential and senatorial elections opens on February 23.