QUICK NEWS

Let the campaigning begin
Attention aspiring politicians: Filing for president and vice president of the Associated Student Government in the 2006-2007 school year started Tuesday. The filing deadline is April 12, with campaigning starting April 13.

According to Cynthia Mershon, the elections chairperson, “[The term] starts in the summer, with a few meetings, and kicks into full gear next fall.” Mershon said the President and vice president will be inducted before finals week, unless there is a runoff, since there is no set date for the inauguration.
“Last year [the inauguration] was in June, but the elections were held earlier,” explained Mershon. “This year the [election] was held back.” Mershon further explained the inauguration would be based on the availability of the candidates.

“From [the inauguration] on, the candidate will be the acting president,” said Mershon. “The last duty of Stephen Emery, the current president, will be to speak at graduation.”
The president is responsible to attend various meetings and events, including the foundation auction, the district board meeting, the student senate, and attend required leadership classes while maintaining a 2.0 GPA, and needs to have at least a 2.5 GPA when filing. The president is also responsible for the appointment and dismissal of people in offices when the situation seems necessary.
Emery, asked how his experience last year was, said “Last year, [there wasn’t] an open debate where there could be rebuttal to what people were saying [about their concerns].”

Emery said he told the elections chair that the open debate was a concern of his, and the debate was created for two days.
The next informational meetings will be Feb. 21 in the Council Chambers at 11 a.m. with another meeting Feb. 22 in the Lake Room at 4 p.m. The final informational meeting is at the Maywood Campus on Feb. 28 at 11 a.m.

Walleri replacement hired
Nancy C. Szofran will be the new director of institutional research at MHCC. The position has been vacant since Dan Walleri’s death last year. MHCC President Robert Silverman announced Szofran has accepted an offer of employment. She is employed as the chief technology officer for the Idaho State Board of Education and the Board of Regents for the University of Idaho. She is planning to begin her new postition with MHCC March 15.