Emily Supil is guaranteed to win Tuesday.
Running unopposed for student government treasurer, Supil will win the election simply by voting for herself.
She doesn’t want to dwell on that fact, however.
“If people don’t vote for me, I won’t be elected,” Supil said of her mindset. “I’m still campaigning. I want to get my name out there. I know not a lot of people know who I am.”
As a result, Supil has spoken to multiple groups and has carried herself just as she would if she had an opponent.
“I’m running as if I haven’t won yet,” Supil said. “I still want people to vote for me, but every time I speak, it’s more about if people have concerns and that I’m available if they have [any].”
Supil is currently the Senate Finance Committee chair. In that capacity, she works closely with the treasurer foreseeing the finance committee. The body’s main purpose is to allocate student activity fees to student organizations.
“As the committee chair, I feel I have the most experience [to be treasurer],” Supil said.
Supil was extremely involved in Student Government her first two years on campus, starting when she served on Freshman Council under her mentor, former Student Body President Meredith Ross.
“[Ross’] involvement had a great influence on me,” Supil said.
However, Supil took a break for her junior year for an internship — a period that she said allowed her to see SG through a different lens.
“When I took the break my junior year, I kind of saw Student Government outside of being involved in it,” Supil said. “I saw all the great things they’re doing. So I decided to come back.”
Her return was a bit unorthodox, however. Supil missed the sign-up date to run for Senate last spring. She was later informed that the School of Business still had open seats and began a run as a write-in vote. She was elected and later named Senate Finance Chair by Student Body Vice President Taylor Cain, another former colleague from Freshman Council. Cain, who said Supil has done an “awesome” job as finance chair, classifies her as a selfless worker.
“Emily works hard; she puts in extra hours,” Cain said. “She may not always get credit for [extra work], but she does [it].”
After being named the chair by Cain, Supil discovered this summer she would spend an extra year at USC. At that point, she decided she would run for treasurer this spring, beginning to seriously prepare for a run last November.
Supil said she wants to continue the work of current Treasurer Peter Schaeffing and make sure student organizations know when numbers are due and when treasurer’s workshops occur. With over 300 student organizations, Supil said she can’t hope to meet with each one individually, but she aims to make every group knowledgeable of how the process works.
“My goal is to maximize the student allocation,” Supil said. “If it’s not used, it goes to a general fund, and you don’t know where that goes. We want to use it because the students are paying for it.”
Supil has maintained a campaign Twitter and Facebook page. She does not have a sign out on the Greene Street wall, however.
So why was Supil the only candidate without a sign?
Fitting to the role of the office she strives to win, she didn’t want to waste money.
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