The Associated Students of Arizona State University Downtown still needs senators to fill its nine open positions as students move into the sixth week of the semester.
Last week the ASASUD lost two senators, meaning only five of 14 positions are currently filled.
Journalism sophomore and ASASUD Vice President Beth Wischnia said she thinks the seats remain unfilled because the Downtown campus student government is so new.
“We are still in the process of establishing our organization on the Downtown campus, and visibility is an issue ASASUD is trying to overcome,” Wischnia said.
Currently there are openings for senators from Barrett, the Honors College; Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication; College of Nursing and Health Innovation, College of Teacher Education and Leadership; School of Letters and Sciences; University College and two freshman openings. Only the College of Public Programs has filled both its senator spots.
One journalism and one nursing senator left the student government last week, leaving their positions vacant.
Because of open positions, ASASUD extended the deadline for applications to Sept. 17, but Wischnia said it is leaning toward having a rolling application deadline for the rest of the academic year.
“If there are open positions, I don’t see why we shouldn’t let people apply for them,” she said.
ASASUD received 17 applications for the open senate spots over the past week, mostly for the nursing and journalism positions. Some positions haven’t had any applicants at all, Wischnia said.
“It’s definitely not the ideal situation — ideally we would have equal representation for each college,” she said. “We’re going to be moving forward with our plans, but those colleges will probably be lacking senators.”
Elementary education junior Cynthia Kalem said she thinks her major, which currently has no senators, will be underrepresented as a result.
“I feel like I’m at a disadvantage,” Kalem said. “If there is a major change, I’m worried it will happen without our words being heard.”
But journalism sophomore and ASASUD President Tania Mendes said schools without representation will still have an impact on student government decisions.
“Not having a senator will not mean that voices won’t be heard, It just means we’re going to have to work harder to get out there and hear what students have to say,” Mendes said. “I plan on making myself available to any students with concerns.”
ASASUD is also working to implement a judiciary board. The student constitution doesn’t have many specifics on its guidelines, something Mendes and Wischnia are working on, they said.
“We’re looking at how the other ASU student governments run their judiciary board,” Mendes said. “But I see it as a board that keeps us in line, overlooking the student government and make sure we’re upholding our end of things.”
The judiciary board is supposed to be in charge of the impeachment of officers and elected officials, Mendes said, and several students have expressed interest in the positions.
“Right now I feel like we’re just needing to deal with what we have,” Mendes said. “We have a really strong foundation to build on and if new people come, we’re just going to add them to the family. Right now, we’re rolling with the punches.”
Reach the reporter at sheydt@asu.edu.
