By Mallory Schlabach, Editor in Chief
Elections for Students’ Association senator positions and congress seats begin Tuesday in the Campus Center. Those interested in reaching out to the student body and solving problems turned in petitions Wednesday afternoon so they could begin campaigning, said Jordan Williams, vice president of SA.
Students can occupy nearly 75 congress seats and class senator positions this year, including five class senator representatives from the freshman, sophomore, junior and senior classes; residence hall representatives from halls like Barret, Gardner and Morris; and academic building representatives like the Administration Building, the College of Business Administration and the Williams Performing Arts Center.
"SA is a great way to get things done, to solve problems, and it gives students the opportunity to step into a leadership position on campus," said Williams, junior accounting and finance major from Longview. "Students who want to represent their friends, dorm or class should run."
As of noon Wednesday, more than 30 petitions had already been turned in, with a majority of the candidates being freshmen.
"We’ve had an overwhelming response come in with the petitions already," Williams said, "particularly with the freshmen. They seem to really be on fire for this, this year, and we are excited for them to be part of our team."
Those who turned in petitions had to have at least 10 percent of their constituents sign a petition endorsing them to represent the class, building or residence hall in Congress, said SA president Maher Saab.
Elections begin Tuesday and will continue through Wednesday. In the case of a tie or a position with no majority, run-off elections will take place Thursday after Chapel until 3:30 p.m., Williams said.
Although many people have turned in petitions already, many are running for the same class senator or residence hall representative seat, which leaves other seats open, Williams said.
"The senator and dorm positions will be filled nicely," he said. "What we really struggle to fill is academic building representatives."
Williams recommended that if any student misses the opportunity to turn in petitions and campaign, or if they lose the position they are running for but are still interested in SA, they should talk to Saab about representing another seat on Congress.
Saab, senior political science major from Abilene, said something most students don’t realize about SA is that every student on campus is part of this student body government.
"Come down and talk to us about anything that bothers you-what you want to see changed or just talk," he said. "This is your office. Come eat your candy, sit in your chairs, drink your cold water. We’re here to represent you."
Students running for class senator positions will give speeches at 7:15 p.m. Monday in the Hilton Room to explain to their constituents why they are running and what they intend to do in Congress.
