2008 Woodie Awards
Ahrens declares candidacy for senate presidency, Narragansett pair urge senators to vote locally
Justin Oswald
Issue date: 1/24/08 Section: Campus
|
External Affairs Chairman Thomas Ahrens announced his candidacy for Student Senate President with running mate Cultural Affairs Chairman David Bedard as vice president.
Ahrens has vigorously pushed for reforming the Narragansett "orange sticker" policy. The Student Senate unanimously opposed the policy, which publicly penalizes house parties, in the fall.
"We feel confident with our experience and knowledge," Ahrens said of himself and Bedard.
Ahrens said if elected he intends to remedy previous problems senators have had abiding by the senate attendance policies. Earlier this academic year President Neil Leston critiqued senators for lackluster performance and not participating in discussion, which led to the removal of some senators.
"We want there to be a higher level of accountability here on the senate," Ahrens said.
Ahrens said he hopes to also address complaints from the student body concerning lack of communication from the senate. No other senator has announced their candidacy.
Students interested in running in the election must declare their candidacy between Jan. 28 and Feb. 7. Senate seats are available for all eight colleges and 12 at-large seats.
Polls will be open Feb. 12-13 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. This first round of elections will determine the top two president and vice president pairs. Those two pairs will be voted on in a future election at the end of February along with on-campus and off-campus representatives.
In other business, $300 was given to the Latin American Student Association for a DJ at its fundraising dance tonight in the URI Memorial Union. The dance will be the first held in the Memorial Union since a moratorium was placed on dances after Charles Yinusa was stabbed following a Sept. 7 dance.