The 2014 Student Government Association Election packets have been released and are due this Friday.
Students who wish to take an active role in SGA are encouraged to pick up an application and apply. Depending on the level of involvement that students would like to input, there are many roles that are open.
SGA Elections Commissioner Jacob Everett is overseeing the election process this year.
“I would encourage anyone who wants to take a larger part in campus life here at UT Martin and who has some great ideas and possible changes for the school to go to the SGA website and take a look at the packet,” Everett said.
All applicants must be in good standing academically with the university. Each candidate must also complete Pledge forms stating that they have read the SGA Constitution and Article IV in detail, an Elections Rules Compliance Form and an Elections Petition Form with 25 signatures.
All candidates must also take a SGA Constitutional test, which will be available at 6 p.m. in University Center, Room 231 today, Wed., March 12.
Students who have a 2.75 grade point average or higher with two full semesters of experience in SGA are eligible to run for an Executive Council position. Executive Council positions include President, Vice President and Secretary General.
Those positions require ten office hours per week plus various other commitments.
Students who have at least a 2.25 grade point average or higher, who want to commit two office hours per week are eligible to run as a senator in one of the five colleges: Agriculture and Applied Sciences, Business and Global Affairs, Education and Behavioral Sciences, Engineering and Natural Sciences and Humanities and Fine Arts.
Undeclared majors would run in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts.
There are also positions within the Judicial Branch that are available. Students with a 2.25 grade point average or higher are able to run for one of five Associate Justices positions, Student Defender or Attorney General.
Students who are interested in running can run as independents or join a political party. Everett has high expectations for the indepentent candidates as well as the ones running on a party.
“My expectations of the candidates is for them to behave as if they already held the office they are running for,” Everett said. “And for those who don’t wish to run for an office, I still hope they will vote on April 1.”
Any student or recognized university organization may petition any item to be placed on the official ballot as a referendum, too. For that to happen, 250 students must sign a petition that will be turned into the Elections Commissioner by the packet deadlines.
Each petition must clearly state the referendum and its sponsor and have numbered lines upon which students can write their names and student ID numbers.
For more information, read the full instructions in the Elections Packet.
Applications can be found online at http://www.utm.edu/departments/sga/_pdfs/2014%20SGA%20Elections%20Packet.pdf.
