Student Senate Prepares for Virtual Election Process
The 2019-20 Student Senate Executive Board (Photo Allyson Frantz ’23/The Gettysburgian)
By Gauri Mangala, Managing Editor
Patrick McKenna ‘20, President of Student Senate, has announced that the organization will be continuing its operations remotely for the rest of the semester. While the Senate will not proceed with weekly Monday night meetings, it will convene at least thrice more to carry out an information session and two candidate forums, hosted by The Gettysburgian.
The Budget Management Committee will still be responding to budget requests for clubs and organizations that plan to hold some virtual meetings and events.
“The details of virtual events are still being put together but clubs have been interested in prizes to incentivize competition in events,” said McKenna. “We have already had a couple clubs reach out that are interested in requesting money for (now virtual) events.”
An information session will be held via Zoom on Monday, Apr. 6 at 7:00 p.m. (ET) Any students wishing to run for positions in the Senate or in their respective class office are encouraged to attend to understand how remote petitioning will work.
On Monday, Apr. 13 at 7:00 p.m. (ET), The Gettysburgian will host a live streamed forum for the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates. The following Monday at the same time, The Gettysburgian will host a live streamed forum for the technocratic candidates.
One technocratic position — clubs liaison — is not expected to return. The Office of Student Activities and Greek Life, which has historically employed that person, has eliminated funding for the position and much of the work of the role has been moved online, reducing the need for a separate position, an email sent to senators Saturday morning explained. The new Senate Executive Board will work to interface with clubs directly in a new format, McKenna said.
With this change, the executive board of 2020-21 will — for now — have five positions, President, Vice President, Treasurer, Parliamentarian, and Secretary.
As students are not on campus, candidates will not be asked to provide 50 signatures of support.
“Despite these changes, to reiterate President Iuliano’s words, Gettysburgians are well suited to meet and overcome any challenges if we face them together,” said Vice President Jack Lashendock ‘20. “The entire Senate Exec Board and I are excited to run a smooth election and are always available!”
Timeline
- Apr. 6 at 7 p.m. ET: Information session
- Apr. 9 at 3 p.m. ET: Candidate materials due
- Apr. 13 at 7 p.m. ET: Forum for president and vice president candidates moderated by Benjamin Pontz, Editor-in-Chief of The Gettysburgian
- Apr. 14-18: Voting period for president and vice president
- Apr. 20 at 7 p.m. ET: Forum for technocratic positions moderated by Gauri Mangala, Managing Editor of The Gettysburgian
- Apr. 20: Senate votes internally on those positions
- Apr. 21-27: Voting period for senators
