Saint Mary's campus elections March 8 will feature three races with tickets running unopposed—Student Activities Board (SAB), Student Diversity Board (SDB) and the Resident Hall Association (RHA).
Juniors Liz Kraig and Stefanie Schwab are the only names on the SAB ticket. Kraig said she and Schwab want to incorporate student voices, amongst other things, in next year's Board.
"We want to incorporate the opinions of the student body into every event, create unity among the three campuses through our events and maintain Saint Mary's traditions while bringing new exciting events to campus," she said.
To do this, the ticket plans on maintaining traditional events such as Belles Bash, Midnight Madness and SMC Tostal, while launching new events such as a field day and a Slip n' Slide day.
Kraig said a top priority of the team is to cater to the wants of the student bodies — Notre Dame and Holy Cross included.
"We are very interested in collaborating with Notre Dame and Holy Cross to create a kick-off of the school year or ending school year event for all three campuses to enjoy," she said. "This year we really want to stress the importance of the student body's opinion and are looking for feedback for new events that students would like to see brought to campus.
In order to better meet the needs of the student body, Kraig said the team will rely heavily on student feedback.
"We would like to send out more surveys and create an open door policy where students can feel free to email us with ideas or suggestions for new events or improvements for old events," she said. "SAB caters to the wants of the student body so it is important for us, if elected, to make sure these wants are fulfilled to the best of our ability."
Juniors Maggie Galvin and Maddie Meckes are running unopposed on this year's SDB ticket.
Galvin said she and Meckes hope to stick with tradition but introduce new programs.
"One of our goals for Student Diversity Board next year is to continue with our traditional events while launching new ones," she said. "We want to be as successful as all of the previous boards while adding our own twist to things. There are always new issues being presented as time goes on and we plan on addressing them in creative ways."
As in years past, Galvin said the biggest project she and Meckes will plan is the Diverse Student's Leadership Conference.
"[The Conference] is a year of hard work from so many amazing girls," she said. "The conference is the largest student led conference in the Midwest and we cannot wait to begin planning the eighth conference next year."
Galvin also said she hopes to use the Student Diversity Board as an outlet for welcoming study abroad students.
"We … want to be mentors and support systems for the multicultural community on campus," she said. "We are aware of how hard it is to be immersed in a different culture after our study abroad experience in France. So we would like to be there for the students coming from all over the world to help them and make it a little easier."
Most importantly, Galvin said, the team will help enhance the campus' perception of diversity.
"We hope to bring awareness to the community that everyone is diverse as well as embracing each other's differences," she said. "We want to make Saint Mary's a welcoming place for every girl who comes here."
Rounding out the campus elections are junior Sarah Copi and freshman Lauren Meyer, who are running as RHA president and vice president, respectively.
