PHOTO COURTESY OF ASISU
Madison Long
Life Editor
The Associated Students of Idaho State University (ASISU) elections have come around once more to kick off the final stretch of the spring semester.
And after senator speeches, an executive ticket debate, door-to-door campaigning and tabling – all culminating in elections finishing March 19 – the two independent candidates and those running with the Pillar Party are enjoying their spring break.
For one candidate, Hannah Burrell, the desire to run for Graduate Studies Senator started from her current position as ASISU Director of Finance.
“I love that you can give back to the students and it interested me to advocate for them and be their voice,” says Burrell.
In her current position, Burrell’s duties included organizing the budget for the fiscal year, working with senators and clubs on various projects and leading weekly finance meetings. Now, her focus is set on keeping clear communication between ASISU and the graduate students, and creating more opportunities for the students to network.
“[Running] was definitely a lot more work than I was expecting,” says Burrell, a senior studying accounting. “I would say it has definitely helped me step outside of my comfort zone as well as meet some great people and work together as a team.”
According to the unofficial results, a few familiar faces will remain in the ASISU office for the upcoming year: President and Vice President Sky Halter and Charlie Medema, Senator for the College of Education Paige Little, Senator for the College of Health Professions Prajekta Sharma, and Senator for the College of Technology Hannah Van Metre. Current Senator for the College of Education Silas Smith will instead be returning as Senator for the College of Arts and Letters.
According to Medema, a junior majoring in biology with a concentration in ecology and conservation, part of assuming a student affairs position requires a learning curve. Now, after getting into the groove of his work as vice president – an “adaptable” role that includes attending the executive cabinet, finance, and caucus meetings, leading the senate meetings, assisting students with concerns and introducing new projects – Medema is excited to run again.
Previously the Halter/Medema campaign (then the Bengal Spirit Party) focused on collaborating with various departments and academics on campus to bring clubs together and upping the “Best Bengal” energy.
Now, as the Pillar Party, the two plan to continue their momentum of tradition revival, using the Bengal Cage to receive and consider more student input and keep the passion in ASISU.
“[Sky and I] hope that other people have benefited from our team’s work and next year especially, I hope that people are involved enough and knowledgeable of ASISU enough that we have five parties running,” says Medema, “because ultimately when we have more committed people who want to make a difference, it leads to better representation of the student body.”
Other senators joining the ASISU team include John Torres-Drozd (College of Arts and Letters); Olivia Picanco and Andrew Vaccarella (College of Business); Jovany Leva (College of Education); Makenna Baughman (College of Health Professions); Hannah Burrell (Graduate Studies); Ashraya Burlakoti and Heather Swartz (College of Science and Engineering); Ethan Paine (College of Technology).
The offices for the College of Pharmacy remain vacant, as do the vice president positions for the Idaho Falls and Meridian campuses.
“ASISU is here for the entire student body,” says Smith, a junior political science major. “Even in frustrating times, we are doing everything we can to make things better for an everyday student.”
