St. Thomas’ Undergraduate Student Government will hold a special election this October to fill seven open positions on its executive board. Applications to run will open Oct. 5, and campaigning begins on Oct. 7.
USG announced the special election at a Sept. 24 meeting, reiterating its goal of addressing student concerns to ensure everyone on campus can feel seen and welcomed. Each of the open positions focuses on recruiting representatives from certain student communities.
Second-Year and Junior Engagement Senators
These roles were created to ensure equal representation for each grade. Engagement senators communicate important class information through USG communication channels and serve on the Student Organizations and Clubs Committee.
As engagement senators, they meet monthly with the STAR representative to create student events. They also hold required office hours and serve on the Public Relations Committee to develop their communication skills.
Commuter Senator
The commuter senator’s responsibilities include sharing resources with St. Thomas commuter students, including parking and academic information.
The commuter senator’s top priority is to create a community for students who have less access to on-campus events. They do this by working with Off-Campus Student Life to address commuter needs and concerns. The commuter senator must also serve on the University Parking Appeals Committee and in the USG senate to address troubles with commuting or parking.
Upperclassmen Residential Senator
This position represents the upper-division students who live on campus, addressing their needs and concerns regarding on-campus living issues and campus inclusion by collaborating with Residence Life. Residential senators also serve in the student government senate and hold required office hours.
Transfer Senator
The transfer senator works with the Dean of Students to identify new ways to support transfer students with the transition from their previous campus to St. Thomas. They also collaborate with the Vice President of Academic Affairs to address academic concerns for transfer students, such as issues with credit transfers. Transfer senators also serve in the senate and hold required office hours.
Greater Minnesota Senator
The Greater Minnesota senator position was created to bring in perspectives and concerns from students outside of the Twin Cities metro area. This senator works with the Dean of Students to identify these students’ needs and concerns. They also serve in the senate and hold required office hours.
Out-of-State Senator
The out-of-state senator works with the Dean of Students to identify the needs of out-of-state-students with the goal of creating a community that feels like home.
Like other senators, they also collaborate with the Vice President of Student Affairs to account for any issues affecting out-of-state students. The out-of-state senator serves in the senate and holds required office hours.
Important dates
Applications to run open at 8 a.m. on Oct. 5 and close Oct. 7 at 4 p.m. Campaigning will begin after a mandatory candidate meeting at 5:30 p.m. the same day.
Schoolwide voting will begin on Oct. 13 at 8 a.m. and will close Oct. 14 at 5 p.m., with results following at 8:15 p.m. All winning candidates will be sworn in at the general council meeting on Oct. 15.
Kate Peterson can be reached at pete6055@stthomas.edu.
Madelyn Gallagher can be reached at gall6444@stthomas.edu.
