ASUI will hold a mandatory candidate meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday for students interested in running for a position within student government at the University of Idaho.
Students must complete an election packet and submit it the night of the meeting to ASUI Election Coordinator Taylor Falk.
The packets are available in the ASUI office, Room 302 of the Idaho Commons.
“At the candidates meeting, students will learn the ASUI Rules and Regulations for the election process and tools to help them run a successful campaign,” Falk said.
Falk said students will have the opportunity to run for president and vice president, as well as any of the eight open senate seats.
Falk also said students must be registered full-time at UI and have a GPA of at least a 2.75 or a previous semester of a 3.0 to be considered eligible.
Director of Student Involvement Shawn O’Neal said he encourages anyone with a desire to enact change for the benefit of the student body to consider applying for a position.
“ASUI is the students’ voice … it can be very easy for 9,000 students to be on campus and to remain silent, so it’s ASUI’s job to properly represent student interest by providing an outlet that allows undergraduates to be heard,” O’Neal said.
O’Neal said he believes individuals who are part of ASUI get exposed to differing perspectives daily that allow them to see the university on a grander scale because of the variety of people they have the opportunity to interact with.
“Our entire job here at the University of Idaho is to populate the state with engaged people who care and want to do the right thing to better society,” O’Neal said. “I think that working at ASUI allows people to see the full student experience, which in turn, helps them to become the type of person we are trying to create at UI.”
ASUI Vice President Kelsy Briggs said joining ASUI was the one of best choices she could have made in her collegiate career.
Briggs said she got involved with ASUI as a freshman after hearing the then vice president, Sarah Vetsmany, speak about the organization and all of its opportunities.
Briggs said she talked directly with Vetsmany about joining because she thought her age and lack of experience was a deal breaker. However, she said Vetsmany told her, “What’s the worst thing that could happen — you don’t get it? So what, then you try again next year.”
Briggs said she decided to give it a shot after the conversation with Vetsmany and ended up with a position on the executive side that year and was, ultimately, hooked on ASUI after that, becoming the vice president two years later.
Briggs said she encourages students to take the same leap she did three years prior because again, “What’s the worst thing that can happen?”
“ASUI for me has been a fabulous experience, not only has it created great friendships, but it has given me connections across the university into the Moscow community, as well as the Idaho legislature,” Briggs said. “I really don’t see a negative side to it.”
Olivia Heersink can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @heersinkolivia