Student Association Senate elections are today.
Senators, who meet twice monthly, also work with the students in the area they represent to see what improvements students would like to see on campus, SA vice president Cory Carter said.
“They participate in campus outreach where they go out and meet with students and see what they want done on campus,” he said.
The Senate is also responsible for approving new legislation relating to academic policy, evaluating all cabinet members and appointing cabinet members during the year.
The Senate is the direct voice for students to the SA and administration, SA president Jon David Cole said.
There are 51 Senate seats to be filled this election, SA elections commissioner Spencer Broocks said. The number is slightly down from last year due to the closing of some residence halls.
“Every student on campus is represented by the Senate, including graduate students,” he said.
Of the 51 seats, each of the 11 residence halls holds one seat, commuter students hold 17 seats and fraternity and sorority rows hold one seat apiece. The others are composed of senators from each college based on the number of students enrolled in that college.
There are 101 students running for Senate this year, Broocks said. Only five seats are uncontested, including the College of Forest Resources, Suttle Hall, Aiken Village, Arbor Acres and the office of the provost, which represents students with an undeclared major.
“A lot of the seats are contested this year, which is a good thing because in years past we’ve had a problem with people not being motivated to run for Senate,” Cole said. “I feel that our elections commissioner this year has done a better job this year of advertising these Senate seats and making sure students run for them, so I feel this year we will have a good Senate.”
Cole said all students at MSU are eligible to vote in the election whether they are an undergraduate or graduate student.
Voting will be electronic, and polls will open at 7:30 a.m. and close at 6 p.m. across campus. Students must present their student IDs to vote.
“Students can vote at the Union in the lobby, the lobby in Mitchell Memorial Library, and the Sanderson Center conference room,” Broocks said.