There are two proposals that the student government plans to vote on during this week’s meeting.

One is regarding the payment of T-shirts for the Chillin’ for Charity event that was tabled at the last meeting, and the other is to approve election reforms.

The election reform has been deemed as emergency legislation.

The student government is planning to have online elections available through its updated website for incoming and re-elected senators.

The Speaker of the Senate Jason Sandidge was not sure how the new election process would affect the student government elections.

“I do know that having the ballots in Coleman (Hall) and the (Martin Luther King Jr. University) Union in the past has proved hard to get people to come out and vote, so I’m having high expectations that the online elections will entice more people to vote and that they will have a more relaxed time to vote,” Sandidge said.

John Poshepny, a member of the student government and a co-author of the election reform proposal with Student Body President Michelle Murphy, mentioned what the proposal entails.

“(The election proposal) contains mostly common sense stuff like how you get on the ballot, how electronic polls work and stuff like that,” Poshepny said.

Murphy discussed the process that students have to go through to be placed on the student government ballot.

“There’s a candidate packet,” Murphy said. “It has an intent-to-run form in it, and they have to have a petition signed by 50 students.”

Murphy also mentioned that there is a lottery to randomly determine ballot placements for the candidates.

Also on the agenda is the old business of the T-shirt proposal.

“I’ve heard people talk positively and negatively about (the proposal),” Sandidge said. “I think it’s a good idea, but whether it’s going to be passed or not is a completely different question.”

Poshepny also talked about the proposal.

“(The proposal) could be a tough one because even though I think this concept is a noble one and the charity it goes to is a great charity, I just don’t think that this was planned real well,” Poshepny said.

Murphy said she has mixed feelings about the proposal, and that it could go either way.

“I just think that stuff needs to be planned better, and I think that it’s hard for me to get behind stuff until I think that it’s planned really thoroughly, and I’m not entirely convinced that this was,” Murphy said.

If the bill does not get passed, then the student senate might have to order a set amount of shirts with payment from each separate hall or Registered Student Organization instead of ordering 150 shirts ahead of time.

“They might be crammed for time if (the proposal) is not passed and would have to deal with getting the numbers from each RSO,” Sandidge said.

There are also items on the consent agenda to be approved, including students chosen for the election commission and student publications board.

The student government will meet at 7 p.m.today in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union in the Arcola-Tuscola Room.

Rachel Rodgers can be reached at 581-7942 or rjrodgers@eiu.edu.