The University of Idaho Argonaut

Only 6 percent of the student body turned out to vote in the ASUI senate fall elections.

Five hundred and twenty-five students voted in the election. Candidates elected were Chris Shirts with 237 votes, Pedro Garcia with 167, John Adkins with 170, Michael Barker with 165, Garrett Holbrook with 151, Ashley Cochran with 141 and Tricia Crump with 137.

“I’m a little disappointed with the turnout, but there’s a lot of factors that contributed to that,” said Eric Everett, ASUI elections coordinator. “It looks like we have a good set of candidates and good winners. I look forward to working with them in ASUI.”

The candidates’ terms will end at the end of fall 2007. Garcia, a junior architecture major, said he wants to work toward having better voter turnouts for spring semester and future semesters. He wants to find ways to get to know the student body.

“Let them know that changes can be made, but they have to put their voice in,” Garcia said. “I know that at the university there’s been times when we say we are going to make changes and we don’t make changes.”

The university needs to go work on those changes to make it better for our future, Garcia said.

“What got me interested (in ASUI) was the fact that people always want change at the university and they never intend to step up and make that change,” he said. “I want to be that change. If I want to see change, then I think I can be the one to make change.”

Anybody can make change, they just have to want to, Garcia said. Since the voter turnout was low, he believes ASUI has to find a different way to reach the student body and to get them to vote.

“I would have thought people cared more about their senators, but obviously not,” he said.

Since this was Barker’s first time campaigning and will be his first time working as a senator, the junior business and economics major said the first thing he wants to do is to try and learn as much as possible.

“I’m a quick learner and I’m willing to do it, so I’m excited for that,” he said.

One of the major issues Barker plans to work with is funding for Valley Transit. The funding is set to expire in 2007, and Barker would like to find a way to keep the transit running. One way to keep the funding is through user fees, he said.

“I think that there are some good candidates out there,” Barker said. “I’ve read their (bios) and I’ve talked to a few of them and everyone seems like they are really involved.”

Garcia said even though some of the candidates do not have any background in government, they have an intriguing attitude toward trying to change things.

Any candidates who were not elected and are still interested or any students interested in the ASUI senate can campaign in the spring 2007 election, Everett said. Eight senate seats will be open spring semester.

ASUI Vice President Travis Shofner said he is excited to see some new faces in the senate and he looks forward to hearing the ideas they bring to the table.

“Only time will tell what kind of senators they will be,” Shofner said. “I will try my best to advise them and be someone they can come to for information or just someone to talk to.”

Shofner hopes the new senators will learn from the current senators, some of who will still be serving their terms in the spring.

“That way they will have good leadership around them,” he said.