By Nico Machlitt and Lauren del Valle
STAFF WRITER and ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Student Government Association senators, Mark Atkinson and Nicole Olson, are running unopposed for president and vice president, respectively, and will head the government association in the fall, provided that they receive at least 350 votes from the student body.
Atkinson and Olson walked around the Student Center on Tuesday night reminding people to vote, as elections were Wednesday. They were eager to speak with students at the Q&A session in the Student Center Atrium.
Many students just walked by or turned away when approached, while others were also confused about SGA’s responsibilities. Such student unawareness and apathy are the focus of the leadership team’s campaign.
Their motto, “Transform, Renew, Develop,” symbolizes what they hope to accomplish during their upcoming term in office for a more active student body.
Olson, a sophomore political science and economics double major, joined SGA this fall to become more involved on campus. She hopes to create an experience so students who join SGA will gain as much out of the experience as she has.
Atkinson, a junior sociology major, hopes to improve the relationships with students on campus, as she has seen and spoken to many students who have problems with something on campus and don’t come to SGA for help.
They plan to renew the relationship that SGA has with students. They want to reintroduce themselves to students and work with as many as possible.
“My goal is to start to rebuild relationships with clubs and build relationships with new clubs, to run more efficiently and effectively,” said Atkinson.
There have been difficulties with clubs understanding legislation in the past, which has resulted in club’s losing their office space. They plan to set aside time to offer a comprehensive explanation of such legislation.
Finally, they wish to develop SGA internally.
“We want people who join student government to come out of it having better leadership skills, so that they come forth with good skills and can use that better in their life.” said Olson.