For the fall election, ASUP had 3 contested senate positons. Last year, 15 senate positions were left vacant due to lack of applicants
(The Beacon)
By Megan Walsh, Staff Writer walsh15@up.edu
ASUP senate election results are in, and they are especially newsworthy this year because the end result is a nearly full senate. In the election with the highest voter turnout in ten years, with 30 percent voter particpation, only two positions of the thirty-four senate positions are vacant due to lack of applicants. There were three contested races.
That may seem like little to celebrate, but there were 15 vacant senate positions and not a single contested position last fall due to a lack of candidates.
Members of the current ASUP Executive Board said the increased participation was encouraging.
"It was a huge shock to us," ASUP Secretary senior Julia Balistreri said. "We were kind of expecting the same amount as last year and then one day we jumped from about twenty applicants to a number in the thirties, which we haven't had in a while."
The contested races were for the senate positions representing the College of Arts and Science, Mehling Hall and Schoenfeldt.
There are no senators representing an off-campus position and the non-traditional student position, which is open to students 25 and older.
Jeromy Koffler, director of Student Activities, said ASUP is off to a good start by getting close to filling all the senator spots.
"It's always better to start off the year with a whole senate," Koffler said. "Recruiting more people to petition takes time, if the senate if full then they can be more efficient and spend that time getting to business."
According to Balistreri, obtaining applicants for senator positions has been a problem because of the time commitment senate requires.
A second problem is that past ASUP members have not put getting the word out about elections and applications at their top of their list, Balestreri said.
"A big problem has been that students haven't really known about senate in the past," Balistreri said. "Sure, there are Facebook posts and what not ,but that doesn't really engage the students. This year we have worked harder to be more engaging and have personally been recruiting people."
At the beginning of the semester, Balistreri, who is the head of elections, along with the other executive members put a great deal of effort into recruiting students. They went out and recruited people in person, took advantage of the Activities Fair and used online advertising.
"We went out a lot more than we ever had which was a lot more personal," Balistreri said. "Our president, Brock, went out to Masses almost every night with the election forms, passing them out and recruiting people."
Although the number of senator applicants is a problem that still exists, this year marked a turning point. Not only was the number of applicants encouraging for ASUP, but the fact that about ten of these applicants were returning senate members boosts the executive board's morale as well.
"The returners now have their feet under them; they know what to do now and are a lot more confident in going forward with resolutions, getting reports filed and getting everything worked out," Balistreri said. "I think it's going to help a lot with the new incoming senate."
Matthew Baer, newly elected Schoenfeldt Hall senator, is looking forward to participating at a higher level of student government. Baer, a sophomore wants to bring more events to his dorm.
"Schodenfeldt at this point lacks tradition because we have only four years under out belt," he said. "Getting some of those traditions is part of my senate goal."
Sophomore Farin Nikdel, who campaigned with her roommate for the Mehling Hall senator position, said winning the spot was more exciting because it was contested.
"The fact there was competition kind of upped the ante," she said. "Getting the news was more exciting because it wasn't just handed over."
Although the contested races meant that some people did not obtain the positions on senate they had wanted, it does not mean that their voices cannot be heard.
"We always have open meetings so people can come by," Balistreri said. "Senate is a really good doorway into what's happening in the school - we have at least one person from the administration talk to us every week. You get to see your efforts come to life, and being involved in that is pretty special."
Laura Frazier contributed to this report
ASUP Senate election results
Freshman class: Killian Mustain, Chelsea Christensen Sophomore class: *Quinten Chadwick, *Jessie Robinson Junior class: *Patrick Huynh, Anndres Olson Senior class: Corey Trujillo, *Adam Harnden College of Arts and Sciences: *Derek Block, *Elvia Gaona- Mandujano, Sharon Cortez, Megan Leon Guerrero Pamplin School of Business: Brooke Murphy School of Education: *Sarah Weedin Shiley School of Engineering: Matt Wellnitz, Taylor Spooner School of Nursing: Josh Cleary Christie Hall: Anthony Montoya Corrado Hall: Dorcas Kaweesa Fields Hall: Alysse Thomas Kenna Hall: London Ballard Mehling Hall: Farin Nikdel, Brenagh Sanford Schoenfeldt Hall: Matthew Baer Shipstad Hall: Andrew Bosomworth Villa Maria: *Mitchell Stricker Haggerty/Tyson Halls: *Walker Ross Off-Campus: Thomas Bluth, *Charlie Taylor, Tyler Rockhill, Caleb Patterson International Students: Fahad Al- Ayyadhi * denotes a returning member ASUP has 2 current vacancies: off-campus (1), non-traditional student (1).
Voter Participation
