The University of Houston-Victoria Student Senate is looking for a few good candidates.

 

Elections for the 2008-2009 Student Senate were supposed to take place next week but only two people had filed by the end of the day Monday. The deadline to file was extended until 5 p.m. April 25 with elections scheduled for April 29-30 in the hopes that more students will run for office.

 

Delores White

"I just encourage students to get involved," said Delores White, Student Senate president this school year. "They will not be sorry. It is one of the most rewarding organizations with which to be involved."

 

White said that it is critical for more students to run for office because all but two of this school year's eight officers and senators will graduate next month. White will graduate from UHV with a master's in counseling psychology. All positions have one-year terms.

 

The following offices are up for election:

• president
• vice president
• secretary
• treasurer
• undergraduate senator and graduate senator of the School of Arts & Sciences
• undergraduate senator and graduate senator of the School of Business Administration
• undergraduate senator and graduate senator of the School of Education & Human Development
• three senators at large – These senators may be either undergraduate or graduate students and represent the general student body
• senator at large from the University of Houston System-Cinco Ranch
• senator at large from the University of Houston System-Sugar Land

 

To file to run, candidates must be enrolled as UHV students in compliance with all university policies and procedures. Candidates must be in good academic standing with high moral character, and they must remain enrolled, at least half-time, throughout their term of office, excluding the summer. Students must have a cumulative grade-point average of 2.5 or above on a 4.0 scale at the time of their election and maintain that grade-point average throughout their term.

 

"The Student Senate is the voice of our students. Being involved in the Senate gives our students the opportunity to speak up and be heard," said Minnie Urbano, Student Senate adviser and manager of Student Services.

 

Kristen Lindley

Kristen Lindley, the undergraduate senator of business on the Student Senate, already has filed to run for president. If elected, she would like to increase student awareness about the many events that happen on the UHV campus and get students more involved at the university. One way she would like to do that is to better publicize Student Senate meetings and encourage more participation in the meetings through videoconferencing and other means.

 

"We're there to solve problems and be the voice of the students. It's important that students know what's going on," said Lindley, who is a pitcher for the UHV Jaguars softball team and a junior accounting major.

 

Other candidates who have filed since Monday and the offices they are seeking are:

• Rick Navarro, vice president
• Elizabeth Martinez, undergraduate senator of the School of Arts & Sciences
• Valerie Kemp, undergraduate senator of the School of Business Administration
• Shauna Sullivan, graduate senator of the School of Business Administration

 

Rick Navarro

Navarro, who also is the 2007-2008 vice president, said he is pleased that the Senate has an office in the University Center building this school year. This allows the student body to stop by and voice any concerns they have.

 

"We've tried to make ourselves a little more visible on campus," said Navarro, who is getting his master's degree in interdisciplinary studies.

 

If elected, he would like to enrich students' experiences at UHV by uniting the efforts of student organizations and providing workshops and other activities to help students gain the tools they need to get good jobs when they graduate, he said.

 

Nicole Marie Garcia

Nicole Marie Garcia, a junior interdisciplinary studies major, filed on Monday to run for secretary. As a student worker in UHV Student Services, she has met some of the Student Senate members.

 

"They just have really great comments about the organization and have made me really excited to run," she said.

 

For more information about filing for the election, contact Janet Foerster in UHV Student Services at (361) 570-4133 or visit Room 133 in the University West building.