Fresh faces for ‘06-07 council
THE COUNCIL’S NEWEST MEMBERS SHARE THEIR VISIONS
March 23, 2006
Janelle K. Robinson
The student body has cast their ballots and the TWUSA faculty and class representative positions were filled as followed: Kat Campbell, Natural Applied Sciences; Samantha Lowe, Humanities and Social Sciences; Matthew Pasiuk, Business; Lisa-Joy Lindahl, Professional Studies and Performing Arts; Ashley Setter, Education. Wesley Armstrong won the Senior Representative position, while Alicia Marshall will represent the Junior class.
Low voter turn-out and minimal competition marked the elections. Most of the positions were unrivaled, and the representatives agreed that students were not prompted to vote because of the lack of competition.
Lowe is determined to fight this widespread apathy. She said she is frustrated because “people just don’t care. You’d think we’d be happy to make our voice heard.”
Setter feels that the biggest issue regarding low voter turn-out is communication.
“A lot of students don’t understand what a faculty rep is and what they are responsible for accomplishing,” she said.
Yet in the face of student disinterest the representatives are enthusiastic and ambitious.
Though new to TWUSA, Campbell’s four years in the sciences and her leadership experience in Student Life have given her the motivation to take on NATS rep. She plans to start an online forum where students can ask questions about science and careers that interest them.
Marshall sees herself working primarily to promote greater class unity among Juniors.
“I would like to see our class grow closer together and get more of a sense of its identity,” she said.
Pasiuk feels confident in his new position because Brandan Ware, current Business representative, encouraged Pasiuk to be on TWUSA, and has agreed to mentor him into the role.
Unlike the TWUSA executives, all faculty and class representatives are new to the council, with the exception of Armstrong, who will represent Seniors. Armstrong, this year’s Ground Level Coordinator, believes he has a strong understanding of how TWUSA runs, which will work to his advantage. Armstrong is entering his third year on council and hopes his experience will encourage the newer members.
“I know what it’s like trying to figure out how things work,” he says. “The biggest advantage to being a returning TWUSA member is that I can hit the ground running.”
Armstrong hopes to work between the classes and do advocacy projects. He also plans to launch a student movie theatre on campus.
No one ran for Sophomore Class and Human Kinetics representatives so Student Council has extended the sign-up date for those positions.
Lisa-Joy Lindahl was not available at press time.
VOTER TURN-OUT FOR FACULTY REPRESENTATIVES
Business: 40
Education: 40
PSPA: 49
NATS: 52
Humanities: 100
HKIN: no candidate
Now you go...
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