Student government elections to be this week
March 22, 2016
Student leaders are putting themselves out there hoping to gain students’ votes for the student government elections lasting Wednesday through Thursday.
Students can cast their votes for student senators and executive positions, which include student body president, student vice president for academic affairs, student vice president for student affairs, and executive vice president.
The positions of executive vice president and student vice president for student affairs both have two people running against each other, while the student body president and student vice president for academic affairs positions have one student running for each.
Students will receive an email on Wednesday with a link attached to it in their Panthermail which will take them to the voting website. Voting will close the next day.
Students can also vote on whether or not they approve adding a bill of rights to the student body constitution. The Student Senate approved this measure, which would outline ways for students to bring cases of violations of those rights to the Student Supreme Court, during a previous meeting.
The executive vice president serves as the public affairs officer of the student body and helps the president determine the general policy of the public affairs area.
This student also sits on the Board of Trustees as a student trustee member.
The two students running for the executive vice president position are Maralea Negron, junior political science major, and Frida Arellano, a junior political science major.
Negron said if she were elected she would want to continue to push projects like the student action team and voter registration drive that Catie Witt, current executive vice president, has started.
“I think a big part of it would be going to RSOs and talking to them and getting their input,” Negron said. “I think a lot of it is actual face time.”
Arellano said if she were elected she wants to make the concerns of the student body her concerns and be the voice for the campus, particularly on the Board of Trustees.
“The Board of Trustees takes the decisions for the university as a whole, and I am that one person that represents the entire student body,” Arellano said.
The position of vice president for student affairs acts as the chief student affairs officer as well as the chief fiscal officer for the student body. That person also helps the student body president determine the general policy of the student and business affairs areas.
The two students running for the student affairs position are Kenia Gonzalez, a junior marketing major, and Derek Pierce, a junior finance major.
Gonzalez said she felt the student affairs position was the best fit for her because the position is more business oriented.
“One thing that I really want to focus on is more collaboration between RSOs,” Gonzalez said. “I wanted to make the campus stand out for their diversity.”
Pierce said he has experience with the business side of the position after serving on the business affairs committee as a student senator, the committee chair, and vice chair for the Apportionment Board.
“I saw a lot of the responsibilities that go into it,” Pierce said. “I was naturally drawn to that.”
Both Gonzalez and Pierce said they wanted to work with the RSOs on campus.
The student body president is the chief officer of the student body. According to the student government website, the president will determine the general policy of the executive branch by supervising the five branch areas-office of the president, academic affairs, student affairs, public affairs and business affairs.
Catie Witt, a junior political science major and candidate for student body president, said she wants to be president because she has experience and she loves Eastern.
“Never in my life would I have imagined (running for president) until I got involved in student government and ran for this position,” Witt said.
The vice president of academic affairs is the chief academic officer of the student body and assists the president in determining the general policy of the academic affairs area, according to the student government website.
Luke Young, a sophomore finance major and candidate for the academic affairs position, said he wants to be a servant of the student body in all aspects of the position.
“Being on Faculty Senate and working with the administration and working with students is the best of both worlds and that really appealed to me to work in that environment,” Young said.
Young said he would want to continue putting on the “Prowlin’ with the Prez” events, but tailor them more to President David Glassman because they were created and formed around former President Bill Perry.
Witt said she thinks it is important for students to vote for who they want to represent them.
“If (students) have any concerns or problems, instead of complaining about (the problems) they can go to the candidates that are running or go to the elected students and do something about it,” Witt said.
Mackenzie Freund can be reached at 581-2812 or at mgfreund@eiu.edu.
