Student Senate is looking for new Co-Presidents, so be on the lookout for elections soon. Posters are all around campus, and buzz about the candidates for the new Co-Presidents of Student Senate for 2011-2012 has been circulating as well. Blake Gust and Kate Redden are in the running, as are Nick Prince and Jennifer Fox. Through their Gustavus e-mails, students will receive a ballot and will be able to vote for the Co-Presidents on Monday, Feb. 28.
“I believe the elections are going pretty well—campaign pages on Facebook are going well, as well as posters [because I’m] seeing them everywhere,” Senior Political Science and Religion Major Sean Tessmer, current co-president with Emily Thayer, said.
“It’s important for students to vote not only for the Student Senate, but [voting] also helps with President Ohle and Jeff Stocco, the Dean of Students, along with his successor,” Tessmer said.
St. Olaf’s and St. Thomas’s percentage of student involvement in voting for Student Senate is higher than that of Gustavus, which shows that both schools take more of an active role in choosing their student government.
“Because Student Senate cannot be comprised of every member of the student body, it is important that the elected members can best represent the voices that aren’t in the room,” Blake Gust, a sophomore running for co-president, said.
Kate Redden and Blake Gust, co-presidential running mates, shared opinions about the coming elections.
“Blake and I joined together because we both saw the passion that we have in student government. Blake is absolutely a wonderful addition to Student Senate, and … he is really good at thinking about things from all the different viewpoints … We complement each other,” Redden said.
“I am passionate about making Gustavus a place where student voices are heard and where desires are met. When I have passion for a particular goal, I do something about it,” Gust said. “Kate and I have mutual respect for one another, and we both believe in the work ethic of the student body.”
“It’s really important that we keep up the communication between the student body and Student Senate. Senate’s main purpose is to represent the students, and it can’t properly do that without student feedback,” Redden said.
Prince spoke for himself and his co-presidential running mate, Jennifer Fox, who is currently studying abroad, about their campaigning efforts for the coming election.
“The elections are going well. I feel people like our message and ideas. It’s exceptionally important,” Prince said.
Prince is confident that he has the appropriate experience with groups and organizations at many different levels. Jen wants to give Senate a new perspective and an idea bank it has not yet seen.
“[I believe I have] the ability to create positive, purposeful change for the student body,” Prince said.
“[Fox] asked me to be her running mate because she wanted someone who had a lot of experience in Senate with a lot of leading and organizing groups and who was willing to speak his mind, even when his beliefs may not always be popular. I agreed because I’ve seen the excellent work that [Fox] has done to the campus and think that she would provide an excellent, unique and brilliant perspective to Senate leadership,” Prince said.
So remember to vote on Feb. 28 to have a voice about our Senate Representatives.
“It is very important for students to take part in the election process and vote for those whom they want to see represent them in the coming year,” Gust said.