By Mitch Holt, Staff Writer
Students planning to run for Students’ Association executive officer positions must turn in their petitions by 5 p.m. Wednesday and will participate in debates Monday and Chapel speeches Tuesday.
Elections are April 11-12 from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., with runoff elections April 13, if necessary.
Petitions were available March 29 in the SA office and the students needed at least 300 signatures from enrolled students to become executive office candidates
Justin Scott, president of SA and senior political science major from Whitehouse, said petitions are required from candidates to encourage accountability because gaining so many signatures tests a student’s commitment and enhances his or her legitimacy.
Erin Dimas, chief development officer for SA, agreed.
“This formalized commitment to running shows a given person’s intent with the race, and it also really benefits a person’s campaign,” Dimas said.
A special meeting for candidates took place Tuesday in the SA office. At the meeting, candidates were introduced to campaign rules and procedures, and their Chapel speeches were reviewed for content purposes.
On Monday night, executive officer debates will take place in a not-yet-determined location. During these debates, candidates will be asked questions and will give speeches pertaining to the role they wish to perform.
Monday, students will be able to vote early in the freshman residence halls from 10:30 p.m. to midnight.
Executive officer candidates will speak in Chapel Tuesday before schoolwide voting begins. Candidates will present speeches that briefly tell why they should be elected for their desired positions.
SA voted last week to move class senator elections, which typically occurred in the spring, to the first four weeks of the fall, and a date for the elections has not yet been set.
Several requirements are demanded of candidates before they can run for any executive office: a student can’t be on any type of probation, except Chapel probation; must have a grade point average of 2.5; and must have been a student at ACU for at least two years.
To run for vice president, candidates must be at least sophomores at the time of the election, and to run for president, they must be juniors at the time of the election.
“There are a number of ways you can make a difference at ACU,” Scott said.
“If you’re interested in something that reaches a lot of people and something that makes a big impact, [SA] is the place to do that.”
