The Student Senate is hosting a candidate forum on Wednesday Feb. 12 at 5 p.m. to introduce potential inductees.
This forum will allow students to ask questions to the candidates running for Student Senate President and Vice President. Students can ask questions about what platform the candidates are running on and how they would handle potentially difficult situations that come with serving the student body.
The candidates stand at the front of the room and are asked questions by a moderator. Students who wish to ask questions can hand sticky notes and scrap pieces of paper to volunteers who will be walking around. Allowing only the moderator to ask questions makes for a less chaotic forum.
There is currently only one pair running. Ava Hoffschneider is running for President alongside Braxton Dalton for Vice President.
“Typically, there are two pairs of candidates running for Senate, but this year there is only one,” Griffin Ryan, the current Student Senate President, said. “We don’t like to see that, and we prefer more people jump in.”
The pair will have the opportunity to present themselves formally at the forum, but they will also have the chance to present themselves in an informal setting.
Casino Night, put on by Student Senate and Cat PAC, is a chance for students to interact with candidates in a less intimidating setting.
“This event serves two purposes,” Luke Polacek, current Student Senate Vice President, said. “The first is to give us more visibility for the election so there is a more competitive pool of voters. The second is to increase visibility for the Senate overall. If [attendees] have questions about what we do, they are free to ask.”
Casino night is being held Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. in the Frey Suite. Entry is free for all students, and attendants will be given a number of chips to participate in the games.
The candidates’ information will be displayed during the event.
“The candidates are welcome to walk around to different students and explain why they are running,” Ryan said. “Students are all welcome to go around and play different fake gambling games. There’s blackjack, poker and other table games. Students can gamble with fake money, and we can encourage them to vote.”
Students who participate in Casino Night have the opportunity to win prizes.
“Even if students aren’t interested in Senate, I would encourage them to be there,” Polacek said. “They will get a certain number of chips which equals a certain number of tickets that can be entered in a drawing for prizes.”
