MSSA election season to begin soon, applications open
Katie Leibel
Staff Writer
The Minnesota State Student Association applications for candidacy for the 2018-2019 school year are now open.
Students can go online and visit the MSSA OrgSync portal and apply for the open positions.
MSSA has 33 seats that all students are able to run for and they can use these positions to make changes, big or small, on campus.
Meetings are every Wednesday at 4 p.m. where students work to make positive changes to Minnesota State University, Mankato.
As a senator, students typically represent a specific part of campus. For example, a social and behavioral science student might represent the SBS college and work to make changes to benefit the department or fix problems that the department is facing. The senator is not limited to helping that department, however, and can change almost anything on or even sometimes off campus.
Joshua Atencio, the elections chair of MSSA, brought up an issue that off-campus students were facing that MSSA recently changed.
“Previously there was an issue of lighting on the street between Kwik Trip down to just past Jake’s Stadium Pizza. This was brought up as an issue because it was an area a lot of students used to get from MNSU to their off-campus home,” Atencio said. “MSSA helped to resolve this issue by getting the city involved, and in the end more light posts were put up.”
Essentially, students can work to make changes that make campus safer, easier to navigate and more accepting. MSSA is constantly changing and shaping the university in many ways, such as providing more printers around campus or working on the annual budget to decide how the university will spend student fees at the end of the year.
Not only does MSSA benefit students by allowing them to make changes with the help of the university, it also allows for students to make connections and gain valuable knowledge and experiences. It’s a resume-builder and shows that a student cares about their environment, a quality that employers may seek out.
Atencio added that MSSA helped him to improve his public speaking skills, work well with others and meet a lot of great people. He described MSSA as, “a great opportunity to be involved and get things done on campus.” Atencio added, “If you have any concerns or creative ideas you think can make Minnesota State University, Mankato better, this is the way to do it.”
Atencio encourages all students to apply and run for a position in MSSA.
“In my mind, I believe the more diverse backgrounds we have enables us to see things from all different angles from which we can overcome obstacles that we might not see if all students are from a particular college or major. Diversity is a very powerful trait and I think that it is underutilized at times,” he said.
Nolan Brinkman, Speaker of MSSA, said that he strongly recommends to any students looking to get involved on campus to join MSSA.
“There are a lot of great opportunities, amazing people to meet, and meaningful changes to make that can help our school be one of the best,” Brinkman said.
To apply to be a part of MSSA, students can log into OrgSync, search MSSA, and find the application listed under the “Forms” section. Campaigning officially begins March 18. The filing deadline for the Vice President and President positions is March 27, but for all other Senate Seats the deadline is April 3. Election Day is April 10 and voting will open at 8 a.m. and end at 6 p.m.