The Student Senate will hear nominations for Speaker of the Senate during their meeting Wednesday. The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. in 7th Street Underground at the Martin Luther King Junior University Union.

Payton Ade, student Executive Vice President, said they are aware of at least one senator who is interested in being nominated and running for the position.

They said a good candidate for Speaker of the Senate would have a few key qualities.

“I think with any kind of a position, there are some qualities that help a candidate succeed. The Speaker runs the Student Senate and needs to be able to handle taking on a lot of responsibilities at once. Speaker is a position with a lot of authority and a lot of responsibility, and if a person has the drive to want to be Speaker, then they can do it,” Ade said. “The best Speakers will be someone that learns and grows in the position.”

The process for electing a new Speaker of the Senate is as follows, per the Student Senate Bylaws:

1) Candidates shall be required to inform the Student Body President of their intent to run in the elections prior to the day of nominations.

2) Each candidate intending to run for the Speaker position will be required to meet with the Student Body President or advisers prior to the day of Speaker nominations.

3) The election shall be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order – Newly Revised.

4) All candidates shall be required to serve one full semester before running for the Speaker position. This semester does not have to be the previous semester.

5) The candidate must be an elected member of the Senate the semester they intend to run for the Speaker position.

6) In the event that there are more than two nominees for the Speaker position, the Student Senate will hold a primary election.

7) The two candidates who have received the most votes will move on to the general election. In the case of a tie between two or more candidates in the primary election, there will be a runoff election between the candidates who have tied.

8) They will each be allowed a redress of their platform; however, if they so desire, either candidate may opt out of their redress. Following this, the Senate floor will be opened for discussion. After the discussion has concluded, another vote will be tallied.

The senate will also vote on appointing several people to committees:

• Billie Frazier to the University Naming Committee
• Lashay Powell to the Sexual Assault Task Force
• Tamia Flowers to the Sexual Assault Prevention Team
• Jason Tabit, Grace West, Carolyn Karns, and Kayla Crowder to the Council of Student Deans

The Senate was unable to vote during its last meeting after not meeting quorum.

A minimum of 18 senators is required for the Senate and of that, 10 are required for a quorum.

There are currently 16 senators and four executive members currently serving on Student Government.

Students who are interested in joining Student Senate can find the application on its website or go into the Student Activity Center in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union for more information.

Corryn Brock can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].