If you haven’t already heard, student elections are approaching.

Campaigning for Illinois Student Senate, Student Organization Resource Fee (or SORF) board and Student Trustee have already begun. These positions are all elected by the mass student population here at the University. Last year, only 9 percent of the total student body voted, but this year, Illinois Student Senate is hoping for a better turn out.

Students can run from every college and any major, meaning that these candidates are your peers and will be representing you. It is important to understand that these positions allow for changes to happen on campus that could affect every single student at one point in his or her academic life.

Elections will be happening on March 6 and 7, and every student will receive an email to vote. As the date approaches, there will be opportunities to ask the candidates questions, give them suggestions and learn more about what each candidate stands for. To get more information, keep eyes open for flyers around campus as well as take a look at www.iss.illinois.edu. Remember that this is a student election, which means that the students have a choice.

If you don’t vote, your voice is silenced. Together, students can not only change their individual lives but the lives of everyone here at the University of Illinois.

Rachael Markwell,

Illinois student senator