On Friday, January 17, the 5th Legislative Session of the MacArthur Campus Senate elected three new senators. The in-house election was held at the regular senate meeting and attracted new faces to the normally small gathering.
The elections came at a very crucial time for the senate, as the spring semester is also known as the budget semester, which means long hours and important decisions for the group.
Senate positions are on a volunteer basis. The only voting member of the senate who is paid is the position of speaker.
The senate also appointed and approved a new senate secretary, Honors College student Sonya Reid. Although the position of secretary is a paid position, the secretary cannot vote or have the floor at any meetings.
Nine candidates submitted applications for the three open seats. Of the six candidates who attended the meeting, each made a two to three minute speech stating why he or she should be chosen for the job and what he or she planned to do as a member of the senate if elected. The candidates also entertained questions from the sitting senators as to their other activities, beliefs, and opinions.
In an open vote, each sitting senator had the opportunity to vote for three candidates. Secretary Reid called out the candidate’s names, and each senator said “yay” or “nay” for every candidate.
With four votes each, Honors College students Nicholas Yanes and Heather Boyer were voted in, as was Candice Aurelus, with three votes.
Yanes is a junior at the Honors College concentrating in American Studies. He is a resident assistant and works part-time at Innova Health and Fitness Center.
Boyer is a freshman at the Honors College, planning to concentrate in Law and Society. She is a member of SAVI (Students Advocationg for Volunteer Involvement), and is the Northern Editor for the University Press.
Aurelus is a freshman at the Honors College planning to concentrate in Biology. She is the treasurer of the Newman Club and a member of Theatre in the Raw.
To contact the MacArthur Senate, you can call 561/799-8584, or email Senate Speaker Jennifer Williams at [email protected].