Democracy was in full swing earlier this week as Student Senate held elections on Sept. 7 and 8. The results were announced Wednesday night on the Senate’s website and Facebook page.
“The elections were for general assembly members,” Student Body President Sarah Handler said. “The general assembly includes all the positions for the residence halls as well as the off-campus and at-large positions.”
The elections were conducted digitally through a Google forum.
“I liked the convenience of the electronic election, but I did run into some issues,” senior philosophy major Alonnis Brown said. “Several of the halls were misspelled and the actual process of voting was kind of confusing and opaque, but I muddled through it because I think voting is a very important part of student life.”
Handler said she was happy with how the elections turned out.
“There was a fantastic voter turnout this year,” Handler, a senior industrial engineering major, said. “I think we did a much better job of promoting voting this year. We much more heavily engaged with social media to encourage people to vote, and we reached out to organizations to encourage their members to vote.”
Handler said that in order to run on the ballot, candidates had to get 40 signatures from their constituency and then turn in those signatures to the Student Activities Council.
“All the student senators who have just been elected will represent their respective constituencies as well as the community as a whole,” Handler said “For example, a senator for University Hall will represent the interests, concerns and ideas of the residents and bring any issues concerning that dorm before the Senate.”
Although the elections are officially over, there is still an opportunity to get a position within Student Senate, according to Handler.
“There are positions still available, and it’s possible for someone to still run and get elected,” Handler said. “All they have to do is fill out the petition with 40 signatures and then come to a general assembly meeting to be voted in by the members.”
All the student senators have office hours and can also be contacted via email, which will be available on the Senate’s website and social media pages, according to Handler.
“We highly encourage students to contact and start a dialogue with their senator,” Handler said. “Student Senate is supposed to be the voice of the students and so it’s vital that students speak up.”
