This year, graduate students have more than one option as to who will represent them on Graduate Student Senate.
Graduate students will be able to vote online for both GSS and Student Senate candidates by a link they will receive via email, said Katie Mitchell, GSS board of elections chair.
Last year fewer than 200 students voted in the GSS elections, said Tynita White, current president of GSS. Mitchell hopes this will change this year with the multiple candidates.
“In the past there has not been a need to vote,” said Mitchell. “(This year) I hope that graduate students will turn out to vote because they actually do have a say … as to who will represent them.”
Two parties have emerged in the race, Team Renew and VISION, along with one independent presidential candidate, Mohamad Al-Issa.
Raising awareness of GSS is a common goal for all candidates, and Team Renew hopes that focusing on increasing graduate students’ representation and reviving GSS will achieve that.
“One of the hopes of GSS in the future is to create better relationships with student affairs, and … with the undergraduates,“ said Joel Newby, Team Renew’s presidential candidate. “In the end, it is all about graduate students getting the right representation.”
VISION, an executive-only ticket comprised of first-year students in the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, aims to create more transparency and approachability of the body through increased public relations’ efforts, including a weekly newsletter and weekly meetings.
“I think that Graduate Student Senate has the responsibility to really be there for the graduate students and the graduate community,” said W. Alex Wesaw, VISION’s presidential candidate. “I would like to see people be able to go into the (GSS) office, voice their concerns and get involved with the meetings.”
Al-Issa, the independent presidential candidate, said he hopes his previous experience as president of the International Student Union will help him improve GSS.
“It all boils down to what the graduate students want,” said Al-Issa. “I believe that my cultural background would serve Graduate Student Senate for the better and allow it to be more involved in the lives of graduate students on campus.”
Team Renew’s executive ticket also includes Robert Storm, running for vice president for Committees and Legislative Affairs, Ed Gaither, running for vice president for Administration and Finances, and Jessica Furgerson, running vice president of Communication.
Wesaw is joined by Liz Volpe, Jennifer Smolowitz, and Andrea Harless on VISION’s ticket, who are running for vice president for Administration and Finance, vice president for Committees and Legislative Affairs, and vice president of Communication respectively.
Voting opens at 8 a.m. Thursday and closes at 7 p.m., on the following link: https://webapps.ohio.edu/stusenate
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