Greek senate extends application deadline


By
 in

Undergraduate Student Government extended its application deadline to Tuesday at 5 p.m. for Greek senatorial candidates because of this year’s small applicant pool.

Of the twelve senator positions, three are reserved for Greek senators. There were 10 candidates for Greek senator in 2012 and 12 in 2011.

This is not the first year there have been too few senatorial candidates during the election cycle. Kelly Hann, USG’s director of communications, said she is not surprised because it is a common trend.

“It’s kind of cyclical,” Hann said. “If you look at the trends over the last six years, this tends to happen. There’s a lot of applicants one year and then the next year some people get discouraged.”

Hann said there were many applicants for the commuter and residential senators.

USG President Mikey Geragos said having more students running will create stronger competition among Greek senator candidates and will garner a better outcome for the election.

“We made the decision to extend the deadline because we wanted it to be more competitive,” Geragos said.

Geragos believes outreach is key to garnering a larger applicant pool.

“We’re thinking about doing a better job at marketing specifically for Greeks. We did a really good job overall getting other constituents,” Geragos said.

Greek senators serve as representatives for the entire USC Greek community. Geragos, who served as a Greek senator his sophomore year, said it was a great way for him to get involved with the university.

“I loved the experience,” Geragos said. “It’s such a good opportunity to connect with different types of students and to voice their opinions.”

USG’s Co-Director of Elections and Recruitment Violetta Abi Naked believes the Greek senators help bridge the gap between the administration and students involved in Greek life.

“Through this official position, the senator can really get his or her voice heard,” Abi Naked said. “This power on the Senate can make a big impact on Greek life.”

USG hopes to release the names of all presidential and senatorial candidates late this week after the Office of Student Affairs and the Registrar’s office review the candidates.