Union Board prepares to elect new directors

The Union Board puts on weekly events for all IU students. But the organization’s representatives say few IU students vote for the people who are planning these events.\nUnion Board President and senior Sarah McDonough said that each year, the percentage of IU students who vote during the Union Board elections is low compared to the number of students on campus. McDonough said she thinks this might be because not a lot of people know when the elections are held. \nThursday was the deadline for all interested IU students to submit applications to be Union Board directors. Starting at 5 p.m. Nov. 27 – the Tuesday after Thanksgiving Break – and ending at 5 p.m. Nov. 28, all undergraduate and graduate IU students will be able to vote electronically to elect the Union Board directors. \n“(Students) probably don’t know the purpose of (the Union Board),” said sophomore Everett Scisney. Scisney said he plans to vote for the Union Board members because he voted last year. \nJunior Kizzi Starr Little said she does not plan to vote because the elections do not matter to her. \nRun by students, the Union Board organizes events at the Indiana Memorial Union and around campus, such as the movies that are shown at the Whittenberger Auditorium. \nThe Union Board is composed of 16 directors who are all students. IU students vote to elect eight of them. The current Union Board selects the other eight board members after the candidates go through an interview process. \nOnce the new Union Board is put together, members decide among themselves who will serve as president, vice president for programming and vice president for membership. \nEach board member will be on the board for one full calendar year. All candidates must still remain IU students while in office. Once elected, the new directors will officially begin their terms Jan. 19, 2008. \nMcDonough, who is not eligible to run in the upcoming elections, advises future Union Board directors to enjoy their time on the board because it flew by for her. \n“After being on the board for two years, I learned so many skills,” McDonough said. “I learned so many things that I did not even realize that I was learning.”