Off-campus Ball State University students once again received representation at Wednesday's Student Government Association meeting when five off-campus caucus senators were formally appointed.
All five candidates were approved and granted immediate voting privileges, allowing all four caucuses to again have a voice in Senate. SGA was forced to delay the nominations last week until a credentials board was established, but after the pieces fell in place at Cardinal Impact's second meeting in office, President Beth Cahill said she was encouraged with her slate's progress.
"That is so exciting, because we had zero [off-campus senators] last week," Cahill said. "To have every corner of campus represented is awesome, and it is helpful, makes meetings go smoother and helps Senate get more information."
In its first order of business, the off-campus caucus nominated Nicole Akey as its chair. The former at-large senator said she looks forward to focusing her efforts specifically on off-campus constituents after representing the entire student body in her former role. She said she hopes to continue to see the off-campus caucus facilitate and improve upon previous efforts, including the expansion of the Blue Loop shuttle and the off-campus newsletter. Akey said she is glad to continue being active within SGA.
"I love student government, so just to be actively involved and still be in a power position where I can talk to administrators and other stuff is great for me," Akey said.
Other off-campus senator nominations included last year's caucus chair Henry Mortensen, Brad Gottschlich, Matt Whitlock and Drew Eberhard. Whitlock was also appointed this term's permanent Credentials Board chair, which is responsible for pre-approving Senate nominations. Rounding out Wednesday's formal appointments was last term's Senator of the Year Michelle Voss. She will once again assume her role within the at-large caucus.
Eberhard, who assists in public relations endeavors for the Residence Hall Association, was the lone new member appointed to SGA. He will shift his focus from on-campus to off-campus students under his new capacity, a challenge he openly welcomed. Among the endeavors Eberhard said he hopes to tackle is the current parking situation for off-campus students.
"With the population of Ball State growing more and more and we see more overflow of students, we need better parking arrangements here," Eberhard said. "As a senior in the fall, I feel like being stuffed out in the stadium is kind of ridiculous."
Cahill said next week's meeting will mark the first round of president pro-tempore nominations. So far, she said the Senate has a fairly clear idea of the potential candidates, but nothing is certain until next week. She said the qualifications of potential candidates will allow for a win-win situation for Cardinal Impact and the rest of SGA.
"Right now, it is kind of a silent battle," Cahill said. "Some of the best people in Senate are coming out for Senate that I know of, and that's exciting because we use (President Pro Tempore) so much. With new members coming in, they deal with them more than anybody."
SGA will meet at Cardinal Hall at 3:15 p.m. next Wednesday in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center.
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