The Student Government Association is starting up this fall with campaigning for class representatives.

SGA held interest meetings on Aug. 25-27 and 31, and students interested in being a class representative have begun petitioning by collecting signatures from their respective class. Each class has four different positions available: president, vice president, multicultural senator and 10 senators.

SGA vice president Luke Talley, junior government major from Salida, Colorado, believes that embracing different viewpoints is a valuable aspect of SGA.

“I think the best thing a candidate can bring to the table is a new perspective,” Talley said. “A different view, different way of looking at things, and different ways to solve problems.”

As vice president of the student body, Talley’s job is to make sure the Senate runs smoothly once the class representatives are officially chosen.

“I will be the one who is kind of like the filter of trying to decide, ‘OK, this is a good piece of legislation you want to pass, but I’ll help you narrow it down so it’s more specific and we can actually implement it to ACU.’”

SGA marketing director Kami Evanchak, senior occupational therapy major from Reno, Nevada, thinks the students in the running are ready for what it takes to be class representatives.

“I think they’re already bringing ‘it’; they’ve already done so many things,” Evanchak said. “I think it’s most important to run correctly and run ethically and make sure that they’re promoting themselves in a positive and good way.”

The campaigning process gives the student body an opportunity to learn what each candidate is advocating for. Candidates have discretion over their campaigns and can choose to focus on any cause they hope to address if elected as class representatives.

Evanchak believes that collecting signatures is a great way to put a name to a face.

“Just getting their name out there and making themselves known, going up to people and asking them for their signatures,” she said.

The number of signatures needed varies by position, and its purpose is for the potential candidates to get to know their peers.

An email was sent out to the student body on Thursday with the form to elect their desired representatives, initiating the voting process.

Voting will conclude Friday at 6 p.m., and class representatives will be selected based on the results.