On Oct. 3 University of Wisconsin – La Crosse Student Senate confirmed the results of the latest campus election, approving two first-year senators as well as two referendums supporting ecological initiatives. 

Only first year students were able to vote for the senators in the Oct. 2 election. Of the five names on the ballot, Brandon Micech won with 32.43% of the vote and K.C. Cayo with 22.77%. Senator Micech is undeclared in the College of Business. Senator Cayo is a political science and English major. 

While there were two graduate student seat vacancies, there were not any graduate students on the ballot. Despite this, there were write ins for the positions. These write ins will be contacted and have the opportunity to accept or deny the nomination. 

On the ballot for all UWL students were two referendums both geared towards the environmental impact that UWL has. One of these was a straw ban on campus, which would eliminate the common usage of straws in dining areas making them available only upon request. This resolution passed with 86% of students voting yes. 

The second resolution was for students to continue funding the Green Fund through student segregated fees. This also passed with an 89% yes vote. 

One of the biggest successes of the election was the dramatic increase in voter turnout in comparison with other fall elections, more than tripling last year’s voter participation which saw 180 voters. This year, there were 660 votes in the referendums. 

Student Association Vice President Jurecki states that she believes the participation to be “extremely promising for campus” and explains that “it means we’re doing better at getting word out.” Even so, she thinks that there could be improvement as this year’s participation is still less than 10% of the campus population. 

Aside from confirming the election results, Student Senate also saw the addition of four more senators. 

Over the summer two senators seated through College of Science and Health positions had to step down, so per the senate’s constitution, these seats have transitioned into at-large seats. At-large senators are expected to represent the campus as a whole rather than their specific college of study. 

Fulfilling these seats are sophomore transfer students Jenna McCauley who is studying international business and Benjamin Polony who is majoring in public administration. 

Two senators were also sworn in for vacant human diversity organization seats after being elected by their respective student organizations. Senator Wenzel, a public education major, will be representing DREAM (Disability Rights, Education, Activism, and Mentoring). Senator Wong will be representing International Student Organization. She is an international student from Malaysia majoring in geography and earth science.