SGA fills eight of 14 seats in the Senate
Senators Austin Blessing, Rahul Gopireddy, Bailey Gashton, Jackie Smith, Shayna Haynes-Heard, Boomer Wingard, Kyle Norman and Dan Duong were sworn in during the Student Government Association's Monday night meeting in Anspach.
Eight new Senators were sworn in at the first Student Government Association meeting of spring semester.
Austin Blessing, Rahul Gopireddy, Bailey Gashton, Jackie Smith, Shayna Haynes-Heard, Boomer Wingard, Kyle Norman and Dan Duong were elected after giving minute long speeches and answering two questions from the audience about why they are qualified to fill the open Senate seats.
Six seats remain open.
"We had individuals come up after (the election) who, because of some miscommunication, wanted to run but didn't," said SGA President Chuck Mahone. "Because of this, we'll have more individuals running for Senate seats next week."
If all open seats go unfilled, however, Mahone said he won't worry.
"If the seats remain open, then they remain open," he said. "It's not important that we have a full Senate. What's most important is that we have dedicated Senators who are in those positions, doing what needs to be done for students."
Senators are responsible for representing an academic college and its students though SGA sanctioned projects.
Many of the new Senators expressed wishes to get students more involved on campus with voting during their speeches.
Wingard, also a member of Central Michigan University’s Register, Educate, Vote Central Michigan University (REVCMU), a non-partisan organization created to help students register to vote and help educate them about current issues, said a project he hopes to pursue during his time as a Senator is allowing students to register to vote during freshman orientation.
"We, as young adults, fail miserably when it comes to voter turnout," he said. "I want to increase voter awareness on campus by having students register and be educated about voting. It should be our campus' primary goal."
Students not a part of SGA are still eligible to run for positions in the Senate. Those interested in running must contact either Mahone, SGA Vice President Maggie Blackmer or Senate Leader Rebecca Detroyer prior to running for a Senator position to add their name to the ballot. From there, the student must give a speech before the House detailing why they are qualified for the Senator position.
Every student who ran was elected and sworn in before the body, after the meeting. Blackmer said she was impressed with the diverse topics covered in each Senator's speech and has hope for the rest of the semester.
"Those who ran tonight had a lot of different projects and ideas that (SGA) might not have ever really touched upon," said said. "I'm excited for the new Senators who ran tonight and am ready to get this semester going."
