The Plattsburgh State Student Association is now accepting petitions to join the new legislation that will begin in the spring semester.
All SA seats, including president, executive vice president and speaker of the Senate are up for grabs. Petitions for any students interested in running for a seat must turn their forms in by Oct. 24 in order to be on the ballot for the upcoming election.
Vice President for Clubs and Activities Josielee Ventura said she believes the SA is a wonderful way to get to know people, but that it demands a certain level of responsibility.
“Being a part of the SA is not easy, and it’s a job that you do not get paid for,” Ventura said. “It’ll really teach you how to work for something that you care about.”
Stephen Murphy, current VP for finance, agreed with Ventura and said that when he first started out with the organization, he was not comfortable with working with strangers but has since gained the confidence to do so effectively.
“I’ve grown a lot from the SA,” Murphy, who has been an SA member for three years, said. “You have an opportunity to meet a lot of alumni; there are a lot of resources available to you.”
In addition, Executive Vice President Kevin Clayton said he believes a position on the SA is better experience than any internship because of the hands-on capabilities it provides.
While working as a senator, Clayton said he felt himself become more engaged on campus.
“Then I moved to executive vice president, and that has given me a huge amount of leadership experience managing people,” Clayton said. “I get to do one-on-ones and coordinate with different boards. I feel going out in the world, I am going to be more prepared than a lot of students who didn’t have that experience.”
Murphy said he felt that working for the SA has given him and his peers an opportunity to work in an organization that is more professional than the average student group that they might otherwise find on campus, which gives them freedom to explore their positions.
“They can basically do whatever they want as far as their positions go within a certain outlines, and they can bring great new ideas to our campus,” he said.
Students who are interested in becoming an SA senator must get 50 signatures; those who wish to be on the executive board are required to get 100 signatures, while those hoping to run for president need 150 signatures.
Once the petitions are fully signed, students must return them to the SA office, located in the William D. Laundry Suite on the second floor of the Angell College Center.
“It’s a lot of conflict resolution, it’s a lot of working together, staying on top of people to make sure they accomplish what they want to accomplish and that everything is up to the level we want it to be,” Clayton said.
Photo editor Alex Ayala contributed to the reporting of this story.
Email Maggie McVey at news@cardinalpointsonline.com.
