Of the 14 undergraduate colleges, four will have no representation by the end of the election: the College of Nursing; the College of Communication Arts and Sciences; the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities; and the College of Veterinary Medicine.
Greg Jackson, ASMSU’s chief of staff estimated two-thirds of the student government’s general assembly representatives actually win their seats through the election process.
The rest become appointed. Each student vying for a representative seat must be approved by the general assembly’s vote.
ASMSU President Kiran Samra said the student government wants to reach out to colleges that don’t have representation by getting in contact with deans and professors and setting up meetings to discuss the importance of having representation on the general assembly.
Jackson said not having representation could create missed opportunities to connect with university officials and push for change.
Without the help of ASMSU, he wouldn’t have been able to create a new class in the College of Business, he said.
Historically, RCAH has not had representation on the general assembly.
This is partially because the college is fairly new, its first enrolled class started in 2007, in addition to the college having its own class council.
Arts and humanities sophomore and RCAH Council Treasurer Leila Ballard said the council recently discussed the idea of sending a member of the council to become a member of ASMSU, she said.
“With the residential college being so small, I think it wasn’t our first priority,” she said.
Ballard said the council wanted to first focus on hearing students’ ideas and concerns.
She also said one of the council’s goals is to collaborate with people and organizations in the community before expanding their reach to the entire student body.
The council hopes to have a representative on the general assembly for the fall semester and is currently looking into the appointment process, she said.
Arts and humanities sophomore Maggie Hermanson thinks the RCAH Council does an effective job creating change.
Hermanson said the council is keen on listening to students’ needs despite not having representation on the general assembly.
Although Hermanson does not have a position on the council, she said she regularly attends meetings.
She says more often than not, constituents are involved in the process of decision making and event planning.
Students have more of a direct role in the council whether or not they have a position, she said.
“The only change that is going to be made is if people are willing to make it,” she said.
For colleges with no candidates running, students can add write-in candidates, given that they sign a write-in candidacy agreement prior to the elections.
Constituents from the College of Nursing could not be reached for comment.
