SGA inducts freshmen senators

By Harper Spires – Contributor – [email protected]
Last Wednesday night, newly elected freshmen Sens. Jeremy Gage, Charlie White and Connor Colson were inducted into SGA. “We had a great turnout this year, and I want to thank all the students that came out to the freshmen debates,” Carleigh Zeman, SGA’s elections commissioner, said.
The freshmen elections took place Sept. 4 – 6 using student OnePort accounts. Candidates put up flyers and chalked all around campus to promote their platforms and debates.
“The debate was held on Thursday, Sept. 5, in the Mills plaza and was a great success with a wonderful turnout and marvelous weather,” Leigh Whittaker, SGA president, said.
In other news:
Last weekend, SGA members Charlie Bridger, Matt Turpin, Joe Baker and Leigh Whittaker traveled to North Carolina Central University to represent UNC Asheville at the Association of Student Governments, a monthly meeting of all 17 UNC institutions. Topics discussed included collaboration among private universities and community colleges to promote student engagement with new voting requirements and initiatives to increase voter turnout for the upcoming municipal election and future NC elections.
Sens. Joe Baker and Sam Singer are working together to assemble a focus group for the Senate. The focus group will be a diverse group of students and faculty who will regularly provide feedback to the Senate about the work SGA is doing. The focus group will be a direct link to a wide range of viewpoints that represent the UNC Asheville student body.
If any student is interested in joining this Senate focus group, please contact Joe Baker at [email protected].
Sens. Ben Judge and Jack Derbyshire are developing a “Did You Know?” campaign. The campaign intends to inform students about services and opportunities at UNCA that many students do not know exist. The campaign will hopefully be visible at orientations and will have a social media presence.
Students should know that early voting begins Sept. 19 and will end Oct. 5 for the municipal primaries. Voting will be held at the Board of Elections office in downtown Asheville at 35 Woodfin Street. Students will be able to register and vote in the same day.
Stay tuned for student voting events and opportunities!