Election Update
Student Government elections for open Student Senate seats are today and Tuesday.
Voting booths will be present in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union and in Coleman Hall from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Students are required to have their Panther Card with them in order to vote.
Eastern currently has two different parties running for the open seats. They are the Student United Party (SUP) and the United Party of Students (UPS).
The Student United Party has existed since the spring of 2006, using the slogan of “Giving Students What They Want.”
This year, Levi Bulgar, student executive vice president, has said he wants the party to act differently in the elections and next semester.
“Instead of telling students what they want to hear, it’s time about we listen to what they have to say,” Bulgar said. “We shouldn’t make campaign promises we can’t keep. We’re all about listening to what the students want and following through with it.”
The United Party of Students is a party created in the this semester, using the slogan of “We Deliver.”
In its first year of running in the elections, Student Senate member Megan Ogulnick said the party is a direct response to the Student United Party.
“We can offer students something other than SUP. We aren’t making any promises this semester, but we want to involve the student body in Student Government,” Ogulnick said. “We have a Weblog students can get in touch with us through, and we want to hear what the students think.”
The Student United Party has 16 students running for senate, and the United Party of Students has nine students running for senate. Only 22 of the 25 running students will be elected to senate after the elections.
The following is a list of the students running for next semester’s open student senate seats. The senate is divided into three districts: off-campus senators, on-campus senators, and at-large senators.
The senate has six off-campus seats open for the Spring 2008 semester. The candidates are: Eric Hiltner (UPS), Patrick Hood (SUP), Chris Kromphardt (UPS), Brian McHale (SUP), and Paul Reid (SUP).
Because the elections only have five candidates for six openings, the senate will appoint and approve its sixth member at the beginning of the next semester.
The senate has eight on-campus seats open for the Spring 2008 semester. The 11 candidates are: Karen Armour (SUP), Joshua Boykin (UPS), Michael Costigan (SUP), Ryan Kerch (UPS), Jennifer Mottar (SUP), Cristin Prince (SUP), Isaac Sandidge (UPS), Miriam Torres (SUP), Erin Volk (UPS), Jeffrey White (UPS), and Sean Wyrobek (SUP).
The senate also has eight at-large seats open for the Spring 2008 semester. The nine candidates are: Justin Barrett (SUP), Kyle Collom (SUP), Keith Darby (UPS), Chris DeShon (SUP), Jeremy Menefee (SUP), Megan Ogulnick (UPS), Ryan Oliver (SUP), Kevin Pavloski (SUP), and Sarah Shaw (SUP).
Students are not allowed to vote twice. Those in violation of doing so will have their votes thrown out and ignored.
Election rules laid down by the university prohibit party members from campaigning within 100 feet of voting booths. This includes giving handouts or putting up fliers, in addition to candidates being that close to the booths.
The new senate members elected after the polling will be announced at Wednesday’s Student Senate meeting.
The Student Senate will have its final meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Arcola/Tuscola Room of the Martin Luther King Junior University Union.
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