Correction: A previous version of this story contained an incorrect detail about voting procedure.

Final dates for the direct election of the student body president were set by the Student Government Association (SGA) last week.

The nominations will be presented March 12, 2007, the same day classes resume from spring break. The nominees will have a month to campaign before voting ends on April 6.

Voting will last six days, April 1-6. It will be conducted through the myNEU portal. In order to successfully elect a president, at least 15 percent of the student body must vote for a nominee, according to the Direct Elections Manual approved by SGA last spring. This is the same percentage of students who voted for the Mayor of Huntington Ave.

“[Fifteen percent is the] absolute minimum [for student participation]. We would view it as a semi-failure,” said Krystal Beaulieu, vice president for administration and public relations.

SGA is aiming to get 40 percent of the student body to vote, Beaulieu said. If the 15 percent minimum is not reached, the voting will be conducted internally in the Senate.

Through the myNEU portal, students will be able to rank the presidential candidates on preference. While the process will be similar to voting for Mayor of Huntington Avenue, candidates will not be allowed to post pictures and there are rules limiting what they can and cannot say.

The Rules Committee, a subcommittee of SGA headed by the Senate Parliamentarian Michael DeRamo and Beaulieu, is in charge of regulating the direct elections process. The committee will be updated daily on the percentage of students who have voted.

The committee can extend voting by five days if less than 15 percent of students have voted April 6. A recently approved measure will allow for a second five-day extension for an “absolute emergency,” such as if the myNEU portal crashes, Beaulieu said.

The results of the elections will be announced at a joint senate meeting April 12, which is also when the other five executive board positions will be elected by the Senate. Even though students cannot vote for these positions, they will be able to attend the meeting to ask questions and voice their opinions.

In other SGA news, Campus Invasion took place yesterday. Members of SGA grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, operated a mechanical bull, gave away 500 t-shirts throughout campus and distributed surveys about parking issues.

– Staff writer Jessica Torrez-Riley contributed to this report.