With the Drake fall election campaigning already underway, the candidates appearing on the ballot show intense convictions for making a difference on the Drake University campus within the 36th session of the Student Senate.
Prospective candidates came together in the Olmsted Center on Sept. 23 at 6 p.m., after the initial petitions to gather interest formally closed, to learn more about campaigning guidelines and what to expect in the busy week ahead.
The senate positions available this election include First-Year Senator and John D. Bright College Senator. So far, no one from Bright College has expressed interest in the senate position, but four people officially plan on throwing their hat into the ring for the First-Year Senator position. The First-Year Senator position is a busy gig, as it works to represent the entire first-year class at the senate table.
The First-Year Senator will have an instrumental role in advancing the welfare and success of the class of 2026 and any issues that may arise within the community.
In addition to showing up to senate meetings on Thursday nights, the First-Year Senator will be required to host two drop-in hours a week to listen to ideas along with complaints from fellow students. They will also serve as the chair of the First-Year Interest Committee.
The winning candidate will have a busy year, as this is a pretty substantial role for a first-year student just getting settled onto campus, figuring out their new routine and deciding how involved they want to be on campus. In order to be kept informed on the actions surrounding the Fall Election and the Student Senate’s activities in general, calls for students to follow the Student Senate’s social media accounts have been sounded by the Senate itself in their last meeting on Sept. 22.
The schedule for the upcoming general election this fall has been posted in various areas around campus and can be found on the Student Senate social media pages, as well as in the photo below. Candidates for the senator positions will be able to voice the platforms they’re running on and their opinions surrounding Drake-centered issues after Sept. 25.
Election polls open on myDrake account portals at 8 a.m. on Sept. 29 and close the following day at 8 p.m.
The election is expected to carry into a runoff election, due to the number of candidates this year, on Oct. 3. Runoff voting will end Oct. 4 at 8 p.m.
