Students and staff competed to win prizes through a tabling event put on by the Student Senate on Monday in the Bridge Lounge located in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

Students and staff could play games of arcade basketball either against friends or senators. While the senators could not compete for the prizes, the highest scores among students and staff won one of three prizes.

The first place prize included $10 gift cards to the Union Bookstore, the second place prize included free certificates to the bowling alley in the Union and the third place prize was candy. All three prizes came with trophies.

The tabling event was for students to learn about Student Government and the opportunities provided and skills gained by being in Student Government.

Students can get involved with the Student Government in one of two ways.

Students can either run for election or become appointed to the Senate. The election process ended April 1, but students can be appointed to the Senate in the coming fall semester.

A senator needs a petition with at least 50 signatures and has an intent to run, whereas being appointed just requires an interview with the executive board of the Senate.

After the school year gets started, the Senate needs 15 senators to meet a quorum, meaning that they need at least 15 senators to be able to vote on bills centered around the Eastern community.

In order to get started as quickly as possible, students interested in being appointed to the Senate should keep their eye out for either paper or links to fill out the Student Government application.

When looking for senators, Jasmine Yusef, the speaker of the senate, looks for someone who communicates well with others.

“I really look for open communication,” Yusef said. “I find that sometimes if you can’t communicate with one another, you have no grounds for foundation for success at all. It can be really difficult to convey that you have a problem or to work together as a team if you can’t communicate first and foremost. So, to me communication is a really big one. I also really like to see an admission of mistakes. So one of the questions we have during our interview is ‘what’s a time you made a mistake and what do you do about it?’ And so the senators that are currently in Student Government now did a really good job of answering that question, whether it was admission of the mistake and trying to learn from it or something of that nature.”

Yusef said that if she did not put herself out there, she would not be in her present position. She, by hosting this tabling event, hopes others do the same.

“Don’t be scared to try new things,” Yusef said. “I never would have thought that I wouldn’t be in the position that I’m in. I was kind of a scared freshman, and Student Government kind of sounded like it could be fun. And now I’m leading it. It’s a resume builder. I’ve learned so much about organizing and communicating with people.”

Katja Benz can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].