As we progress through 2nd semester, Student Association looks to begin their student elections. They need to start looking for people to fill soon-to-be-vacant seats.

The seats open for student elections are the executive positions and all college seats. However, non-college positions will be determined however each constituency would like to place their senator.

Any student can run for both senate and the executive positions. President of Student Association Jacob Schimmel explained, “As long as they are a student in good standing and are at least half-time status they are able to run.”

The process of student elections first starts out with the current executives of Student Association sending out an email with an announcement and an application for those who want to run. After they apply, they must get a certain amount of signatures from students to continue on.

Schimmel went into more detail saying, “If they are running for senate they have to get 25 signatures, just from students in order to be eligible to run, and if they are running for an executive ticket, meaning a vice president and president duo, then they have to get a total of 100 signatures.”

If someone is running by themselves for president or vice president, they only need 50 signatures. After said candidate has the needed amount of signatures, they then turn it into the Student Life Office.

Now the candidates can start campaigning, which commences with getting their nomination forms in and having a meeting with other candidates. The meeting is just about the rules for campaigning, the guidelines for it and advice. The campaign period is about two weeks, with the election being around April 10th.

All students on campus are able to vote for president and vice president. However, only students from a specific college are able to vote for their respective senator. “People running for CLS Senate, only CLS students will be able to vote for them,” explains Schimmel.

Looking forward, Student Association would like more awareness of student government and student elections. “My goal, and I know the election commission’s goal too, is to have a competitive race, not just at the top but also in the senate races too,” explained Schimmel, “because again, the more competitive it is, the more interest that is gained in the election.”

The more students know about these elections and resources, the more interesting it is. CBA senator Lang Vu said, “Honestly, one main thing I would like to see to improve student elections is first the awareness of student government upon this campus, but it starts with the candidates running for Senate with a plan in mind of how they would like to see changes implemented.” Vu also wanted to remind candidates that they are able to work with administration and are able to not only make changes but to question activities.

Looking forward with Student Association, it’s important for students to remember that it is a resource on campus for them. Vu added, “The role of the students is the most important element when it comes to student government. It’s run by the students, for the students.”