Sven Alskog
News Editor
As of Jan. 26 the Associated Students of Idaho State University application process for candidates interested in becoming a part of student government had begun.
In total there are 20 open senate seats.
The College of Arts and Letters and the Division of Health Sciences have four seats each, the College of Science and Engineering and the College of Technology each have three seats, two seats are open for the School of Graduate Studies, two more for the College of Education and one for the College of Business and another for the College of Pharmacy.
Along with senate positions, ASISU will also look to fill the executive branch roles of president and vice president.
Current President Taylor Tingey and Vice President Jameson Bastow will graduate following this semester.
Prior to moving into his current position, Bastow was scheduled to be the elections commissioner for the second year in a row, a role which has now been taken over by former-Deputy Elections Commissioner Erika Cook.
Having Bastow available at her disposal is helping Cook make the transition a smooth one.
“I will probably go into his office 40 times saying how to do this or that,” said Cook. “He is very helpful. He had a lot of stuff in place before I took over. A lot of the ground work is already laid which is really helpful.”
According to Cook, her previous position as the deputy comissioner was an assistant role in which she handled many of the smaller projects which the elections commissioner cannot do alone.
She hopes to see high turnout this year in regard to the number of candidates.
“We want there to be a race for each spot,” stated Cook. “For instance, in the College of Arts and Letters there are four seats, so we want more than four running.”
Cook said she became involved in ASISU to continue to be active and make a difference on campus.
“I like to be busy, like to have only two free minutes in every day,” said Cook. “The position was open and they needed someone. I am a details person. I like good, concrete work that I can get done pretty efficiently.”
Senators are expected to take a minimum of 12 credit hours. The vice president is required to take a minimum of six credits and the president must take three.
Executive branch candidates must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 and senators must be above a 2.0 on the 4.0-scale to be eligible.
Cook highly encourages students to become more involved through ASISU.
“I would certainly say that it gives you something important to do,” she stated. “If you really want to do something you feel matters this is a good place to start.”
All required materials must be submitted to the ASISU office by Feb. 18 at 5 p.m.
An ASISU officer application, an unofficial academic transcript, an election deposit, along with a campaign expenditure sheet and a voter signature list are all included in the list of required materials needed for a candidate to be put on the ballot.
Optionally, applicants can also submit candidate voters guide information online which will be posted on the ASISU elections web site at isu.edu/asisu/vote.
The election will take place online March 17 and 18, 2015 through BengalWeb.
Questions on becoming a candidate can be directed to ude.usinull@noitcele.
