Student Senate held a short meeting this week on the day before their fall elections.
During the meeting, one of these senatorial candidates, Annabelle Gibson, came to talk before the Assembly. Gibson, a sophomore, is a political science major who is looking to double major in economics.
“The reason I decided to run this year is because I, like many other people off campus this year, was displaced from my on-campus housing and I struggled to find a place to live off campus,” Gibson said. “Having been through that experience, I feel like I would be a good representative for other students in that situation.”
Gibson, who is the secretary for the URI College Democrats, said that Instruments Chair and College Democrats President Christopher Bove convinced her to run.
“I also found myself last year asking Chris if he could help fix certain issues that I saw around campus and the Senate, and so this year I figured I should try to fix them myself,” Gibson said.
Student Senate elections for this upcoming semester begin at 12:15 a.m. Thursday morning and will end at 11:45 p.m. Friday night.
Students received an email from URI Communications on Wednesday, Oct. 14 with a link to the CampusLabs website where the elections will be conducted.
In order to vote, students must log into the CampusLabs website with their URI email address and the password that they use for e-Campus.
Additionally, Bove, the disability services liaison, announced that Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) fare passes for students with disabilities will be offered for free at the URI bookstore. These passes are offered by Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA) as a door-to-door transportation option for people with disabilities who cannot make it to a bus stop.
“Right now, all students with disabilities can acquire RIDE fare passes,” Bove said.
In order to receive a fare pass, students must provide their URI ID and a letter from RIPTA stating that the student is eligible for the program.
Campus Affairs Chair Michael Bentley also announced that the Blue Light Walk, an event to make sure the emergency lights on campus are all functional, will take place on Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.
Additionally, Student Organizations Committee Chair Katie Siegle introduced two bills to the floor to recognize Community Wellness Leaders and the National Society for Collegiate Scholars as student organizations.
The bills will be voted on at next week’s meeting.