The Student Government elections are currently underway. Application packets became available Feb. 1 and were handed out to all students interested in running at Student Life located in B173. The packets were accepted through March 7.

All positions on the Student Government body are up for the elections. These positions include president, vice-president, treasurer, secretary and multiple senator positions. According to the Student Government constitution, the purpose of the organization is to promote the interest, values and desires of the student body of Elgin Community College. To do so the organization has the ability to provide input regarding any changes or developments to the school’s policies as well as regulating the recognized clubs, organizations and activities that the school provides.

“As vice-president, I provide support for the president and the senators in their duties,” said Margaret Sherman, executive vice-president of the Student Government. “The senators are tasked with providing the clubs on campus with assistance.” 

In recent years, the elections have gone through some changes to make the process more modern and accessible to all students at ECC. During the 2017-2018 cycle, the elections were moved onto an online platform. This change allowed students to cast their vote from any of their mobile devices, meaning they no longer had to be on campus the days the elections were running to cast their votes. According to Gaea Atta Moy, the Student Government adviser, this change significantly helped increase the elections voter turnout.

“We used to have a low voter turnout for the student body elections when it was done manually,” Atta Moy said. “When we switched to an online voting platform, the voter turnout doubled and continued to increase thereafter.” 

This increase in voting during the elections means that more students’ voices will be heard. This change can also provide the opportunity for more engagement with the student body regarding who represents them in their student government. Those who hold these positions will often meet and talk to school administration and staff in regards to many topics that affect the student body’s day-to-day lives at ECC.

“It is important that students engage in the process because they should care about who is representing them to the college administrators, Board of Trustees and ECC community,” Atta Moy said.

With this in mind, students will be considering who they want to represent them and what kind of changes they hope to accomplish if a candidate is elected. A candidate town hall meeting will be held on March 18 to provide the candidates an opportunity to speak in front of the student body and voice their reasons for running and why they deserve their votes.

“Open-mindedness is very important to have if you are going to be a part of the Student Government,” said Dagmawit Mekonen, a Senator of Student Government. “You’re going to be put in to a lot of situations with different kinds of people and having that will help. Dedication and passion is also important.” 

Once the candidate town hall is held and completed, the elections will be open for students to cast their votes starting at 6 p.m. They will remain open until March 20 at 11:59 p.m. Once the votes have been counted and the winners have been decided, the newly elected members will be officially seated in their new positions at the Student Life Leadership Banquet on May 10.