Nominations open for most student organizations next week

The Unified Elections Period is quickly approaching. By the end of March, almost every organization on campus will have a new executive board in charge.

Each year, Recognized Student Organizations (RSOs) hold elections for their next executive board. Nominations for most executive boards open next week and elections will be held the week after spring break. As stated in the Student Government Association (SGA) Constitution, this period is known as Unified Elections.

Each club has its own policies on who can be nominated for an executive board position, but all nominees must be undergraduate students and in good academic standing, which entails having a 2.5 GPA, passing 12 credits, and not currently on academic probation. Once elected, the new executive board takes on their roles immediately in most organizations.

“The newly elected officers and their predecessors are to use the remainder of the semester as a transition period, and the position technically still remains in the hands of the current executive board member until the semester comes to a close,” said Hailey Tanner, SGA Vice President of Student Interests (VPSI). As VPSI, Tanner oversees all RSOs at Stevens.

Not all organizations at Stevens follow unified elections. “There are three circumstances in which an organization would not hold nominations or elections in the unified periods,” said Tanner. The three circumstances are if an organization is in the New Organization Process, the organization is a non-RSO, such as Greek organizations and honor societies, or an RSO’s constitution states otherwise.

“As for my advice for anyone interested in holding a leadership role within an organization at Stevens, I usually start by asking people if they are doing it for the right reason,” said Tanner. “With over 100 organizations on campus, it can become difficult to pinpoint where you want to dip your feet in and where you want to commit a large portion of your college experience to. That being said, you have to do something because you want to do it and because you are passionate about it.”

For those new leaders elected to executive board positions, Tanner challenges them to create new traditions that will help both their own organization and the entire campus. “On a small campus like Stevens’, there is endless opportunity for growth and so much room to make an impact,” said Tanner. “I just hope all the leaders taking on new positions take that to heart and make their term their own and make it unique.”