By Shelby Wayment, deputy chief of staff, ASUU

ASUU elections are quickly approaching and filing deadlines for all legislative positions, along with the Attorney General, are Dec. 15, 2017. Running for student government allows students to represent their college and voice their concerns in a variety of ways, including discussing university policies, writing legislation and funding.

“Consider your reasons for running. The only thing that will get you through a position like this is a masochistic love of this university and its minutiae and some degree of genuine altruism. If you’re running because you want to develop personally; if you’re running because you can’t stand to see ASUU continually maligned; if you’re running because you care deeply about our institution, you can be confident that you’re running for the right reasons,” said current ASUU Student Body President Zach Berger.

Requirements

All undergraduate and graduate applicants must maintain a 2.5 cumulative GPA during their term of office. Candidate orientation will be held Feb. 2, 2018, at 4 p.m. and elections will then be held the week of March 12-15, 2018. The complete calendar for elections deadlines can be found here.

Open positions

ASUU student body presidency – three members needed (president, vice president of university relations and vice president of student relations), candidates choose their party name and color, but must be approved by ASUU registrar. Platforms do not need to be solidified at the time of filing and will be developed in the coming months.

Attorney General: The top legal officer in ASUU. This person works with all branches of ASUU in relation to Redbook (ASUU’s constitution).

Senate: Comprised of 18 senators, one from each college. Senators are responsible for passing, failing, amending or postponing legislation relating to college student councils and joint legislation with Assembly. They confirm all nominations for ASUU executive and judicial positions. In addition, they hold voting seats on the Academic Senate, where they ensure student representation among administration, faculty and staff. Senators also serve as an advisory board of all college student councils.

Assembly: Comprised of 36 representatives, distributed proportionally according to how many students are enrolled in each college. Assembly representatives pass, fail, amend or postpone all legislation relating to student groups or joint legislation with the senate. They are responsible for evaluating the performance of the three ASUU branches, in conjunction with the senate and can bring articles of impeachment against any elected officer of ASUU, excluding senators.

Fees/deposits:
Filing fee: Any student wishing to run must pay a $5 filing fee.
Presidency: $450
Attorney General: $50
Senate/Assembly: $25

Make sure you file for legislative positions and Attorney General before Dec. 15, and reach out to Cassidy Pearson, the elections registrar, at cpearson@asuu.utah.edu with any questions.

NOTE: All deposits for candidates are refundable.