ASNIC election campaigns begin

Seven students will campaign this month for four positions available on the ASNIC board.

The candidates are: Justin Knoles, 21, general studies; Sheyne Possman, 19, drafting; Torri Meagher, 19, social work; Chris Waltrip, 20, computer science; Melissa Owens, 27, social work; Syafig Fuller, 20, general studies/dance, and Kelly Clausen, 18, elementary education.

General elections will take place Sept. 22-24 in the SUB and Hedlund Building after a period of campaigning by the candidates.
Fuller said he plans to bring back an on-campus dance club by setting up a makeshift dance floor, complete with DJ equipment, outside the SUB. Clausen said she hopes to bring more openness to the campus and relieve some of what she called “the mind-your-own-business atmosphere.”

According to Austin Folnagy, student body president, ASNIC is considering implementing an online voting system, which he hopes will boost student voting by 10 percent.

“There is a larger turnout for student voters when it is online,” Folnagy said. “It’s more convenient and just more available.”

An online system would also allow distance learning students to become more involved in school government.

“In the past, we have had election booths in our Kellogg center and the Ponderay center (for internet students),” Folnagy said. “But sadly,” he continued, “we’ve had a pretty low turnout from those (students).”

Folnagy said the switch to internet voting is not set in stone. If it cannot be set up in time, voting booths will be placed in the SUB and Hedlund Building. ASNIC senators, described as the voice of the student body, receive three credits per semester and a stipend. Senators only hold one-year term.