Elections for two Student Senate positions opened Monday morning, giving Shippensburg University students the opportunity to vote for the class of 2019 representatives until Thursday.

Raven Francis and Zach Gates are the only two candidates running for the positions. Unless a write-in vote beats one of them, Francis and Gates will win the election by default.

Initially, four people were competing against each other, but one student dropped out and another was disqualified for not attending a mandatory meeting, Student Senate President Dominic Giovanniello said.

Students have until 4 p.m. on Sept. 17 to vote, which is done by following the instructions given on the email sent out by Student Senate.

Senators will also appoint four students to vacant positions that were not filled during the annual spring semester elections. First-year student positions have special elections in the fall semester because eligible students only arrive on campus in August.

The appointments will be confirmed during Thursday’s Student Senate public meeting, which is held at 4 p.m. in the Ceddia Union Building Room 119.

Interview-like meetings are being held with the candidates this week, according to Giovanniello.

“It’s an ongoing process,” he said, adding that the senators are trying to get a feel for who the candidates are.

The vacant seats are for the College of Education, class of 2018, class of 2016 and nontraditional student positions.

Last Thursday, Francis and Gates gave speeches and answered questions at a public forum in the CUB Raider Room at 7 p.m.

“It’s all about giving people a voice and be able to make a difference,” Francis said, noting those points were the reasons she was running.

Francis, an accounting major, volunteered frequently at her church and for her community when she was in high school. She participated in community cleanups and was a part of her school’s band and stage crew.

Gates said he wants to work with senators and constituents to get things done for the betterment of the students. As a former member of the Pennsylvania YMCA Youth and Government program, Gates is familiar with political organization and action.

After the speeches, the audience members took turns asking the candidates a series of questions about themselves and what type of leaders they would be, if elected.

Giovanniello asked them how they would handle a controversial topic or decision they may be faced with as senators.

Gates said he believes his job as a senator would be to represent someone else, thus absolving him of any bias he may have while making a difficult decision. Francis took the same position.

Seven people attended the event, including the two candidates, four members of Student Senate and a friend of Gates.

The lack of attendance inspired Giovanniello to issue the two candidates a challenge. He gave Francis and Gates five minutes to work together to create a hypothetical public relations event to encourage SU students to get involved with their senators.

After the allotted time had passed the two pitched their idea — a Student Senate sponsored day of games and challenges where students could meet their senators, eat food, play games and compete in competitions. The audience approved of their idea.

Giovanniello said a goal of his is to increase student awareness and participation in Student Senate events throughout the year.

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