The Student Association Senate ballot may look a little empty come elections Tuesday and Wednesday.

The SA Senate represents student interest across campus and serves as the voice of the student body to the university administration, but interest in the Senate hasn’t been as high as the SA would like it to be.

“Last year we had about 29 senators make the election, and that’s out of 40 seats, which was a little disappointing,” said Senate Speaker James Zanayed.

The Senate, and the SA in general, tried to be active in recruiting candidates for this year’s elections.

“We had a booth at the involvement fair, we went to every orientation over the summer to talk to new students coming in, trying to get the word out,” Zanayed said.

The Senate Speaker has resolved to stay positive and hopes more students will want to get involved in the future.

“Based on the number of people running, we won’t fill all the seats,” Zanayed said. “We’re still going to try to get the word out and stay positive. We’re open to anybody coming out who’s willing to make a difference.”

SA President Jack Barry implemented a rule requiring SA directors to spend time on campus interacting with students.

“Our directors spend that hour on campus just shaking hands with people, explaining to them what the SA is, what current projects we’ve been working on and asking them for input on how to make their campus better,” Barry said.

Stephanie Norman, freshman special education major, is running for a position in the Senate.

“They told me it was a great leadership opportunity and that they have a lot of input on campus, which got me interested,” Norman said.

Norman thinks one of the reasons interest in the Senate has been low is because students are reluctant to take the lead.

“I feel like people expect other people to step up and they’re willing to wait for things to happen, instead of taking action themselves,” Norman said.

Barry had a message for students thinking about getting involved.

“The new administration is seeking student input, so this is an awesome time to, rather than sit back and complain about issues, get involved with the SA, especially with the Senate — they’re looking at policies on how to improve the campus as a whole,” Barry said.