Editorial: Students, your voice is needed in SGA elections
Two students in the Oasis at Holmes Student Center, holding their phones showing a box checked off, indicating they’ve voted. It is important for NIU students to vote in the SGA elections because the winners represent their voices on campus.
The Student Government Association’s purpose is to represent and be the voice of the student body. That cannot happen if students don’t use their voices.
The SGA is a student organization that aims to be the voice of NIU students to the administration. SGA has three branches: Executive, Legislative (Senate) and Judicial (Supreme Court).
Voting for SGA positions on its executive branch and legislative branch begins Tuesday. As a student, you have the opportunity to vote for who you want to represent you and your peers.
The positions open for voting within the executive branch are president, vice president, trustee and treasurer. Students can vote for only one person per position.
The positions open for voting within the legislative branch are university at large, College of Engineering, University Housing, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, underserved communities and graduate students. Students can vote for multiple people per position.
SGA’s executive branch is made up of the president, vice president, treasurer, deputy treasurer, student trustee, chief of staff and cabinet of directors, according to SGA’s bylaws. The elected positions in this branch are president, vice president, student trustee and treasurer. The rest are appointed by the president and then approved by the senate.
The association’s legislative branch is made up of the SGA Senate. The branch focuses on legislative issues and university policy, such as approving petitions like the one that the Senate failed to approve, outlining grievances students have on campus.
SGA’s Supreme Court consists of five justices. One of the court’s primary functions is to deal with disputes and issues within various SGA-recognized organizations.
Students can vote from midnight Tuesday to 11:59 p.m. Wednesday online by visiting Huskie Hub, where students will need to login using their Z-ID. QR codes will also be distributed to students, said Ethan DeMeuse, SGA election commissioner. The winners will be announced by midnight Friday.
Whenever you have the chance to make your voice heard, you should. It’s important that you plan ahead and make sure that you set time aside to vote for who you think would be a good fit to be a voice of the student body.
SGA has its regular meetings at 2 p.m. Fridays. The locations vary but can be found in the senate’s agendas. The meetings are open to the public. More information on SGA can be found on Huskie Hub. The association’s office is located in the OASIS space (ground floor) of the Holmes Student Center. To contact SGA, email [email protected].
