Ledger

Planning for the upcoming student government spring elections is underway, with election packets available Feb. 26 for students interested in running for senator, vice-president or president.

Past participation in student government has been spotty. "[Elections have been] feast or famine," said Shellie Jo Enscoe, manager of Student Life. "Some elections have been completely uncontested and some have been an all-out throw down for president or vice-president."

Last year, only four students applied to run as senators and two for president. Voter turnout was dismal as well, with 113 students out of more than 2000 voting. Enscoe and student government hope that moving the elections to spring, rather than holding two elections a year, will help remedy the situation.

Enscoe said this year’s switch to spring elections is an attempt to allow students coming from community colleges or high schools to acclimate to campus life. "It’s difficult to ask students to get involved before they even know what’s what on campus," she said.

"If students want to get involved at UWT and have their voices heard, [voting] is the best way to do it," said Kristina Provence, an ASUWT Senator. "Students should be interested in voting and the outcomes because these are the people who are going to represent the students next year. They are going to be the ones making decisions about what goes on at school."

Among the goals of student government are initiating and coordinating student activities, promoting student interests, representing student interests and welfare within the university community, and providing for the expression of student opinion and interests to the community at large.

"Basically, ASUWT has input on everything from campus environment to hiring to spending student fees," said Senator Whitney Rhodes, an Urban Studies senior. "They run the new fitness center, work with student orgs on budget, are creating the new Longshoreman’s Hall and in general try to take care of the students on campus. All student government representatives have office hours when students can come discuss concerns and any student who meets the requirements can serve."

Anyone who opted to belong to ASUWT when they registered for classes is eligible to vote for next year’s student government. If students are unsure whether they’ve joined ASUWT, they have an opportunity when they register for classes each quarter.

Interested candidates can pick up election packets in the student life office MAT 105 or the ASUWT office MAT 103. Packets will be available Feb. 26 and are due on March 27 by 3 p.m.

Voting will be online from April 16 to April 21.