UW Oshkosh students will elect the Oshkosh Student Association president, vice president and members of the senate on March 8 and 9. Less than two percent of UWO students voted in last year’s election. That lack of participation can only be attributed to a failure to understand the power that comes with those positions. UWO students pay more than $9 million in segregated fees annually and OSA works in conjunction with the Student Allocations Committee to distribute those funds. All too often voters cast their ballots either uninformed or ill informed. Here are the legislative candidates, in their own words, on why students should vote for them. Read what they have to say and make an informed decision. Order of candidates determined by coin flip. From Kurt Ness and Shayna Beining If we were to be elected president of OSA, we would make sure students know what OSA does. While getting my 50 signatures in order to be put on the ballot for running for president, I had a lot of students ask us what OSA is and what they do. I also see this within our group of people we know. If we were to be elected, we would reach out to the students to inform everyone of what OSA can do for them. We have a campus of about 14,000 students and most of them are not involved in OSA or know what resolutions OSA is passing. OSA passes resolutions affecting all of campus and most students’ voices are not represented because they are not informed about what’s going on. We can change this, through myself and my vice president Shayna being elected. Shayna and I plan to personally reach out to students and inform them of the issues and get their opinion on them. OSA is here for the students and if the students don’t know what OSA does, OSA cannot pass resolutions which can positively change campus. With Shayna and myself being elected we will be the positive change for UWO. Shayna and I are currently not in OSA, and that’s an advantage to us, because we will be a breath of fresh air to OSA. Shayna and I are just every day students with the leadership skills necessary to lead OSA. From Austyn Booth and Maria Berge Once elected President and Vice President of OSA, our first step in making substantial changes on our campus will be to get more students involved. We will hold monthly open forums so students can come and express any opinions they wish to. We will take the feedback we receive and use it to shape resolutions and work with university officials in order to enact change. We will also be tabling in Reeve more often, just as other clubs and organizations do, so we can inform as many students as possible about not only what OSA is, but how students voices truly do shape our campus. We will also be focusing on how we can continue to increase sustainability on campus, build a better, safer campus community, and continue to increase diversity and inclusion resources. Something we would like to stress is that as OSA president and vice President, we will not be pushing our own agenda on the student body. We want to represent all 14,000 students to the best of our abilities. We believe that with our experience and dedication we are the candidates that are the most fit to represent to students of Oshkosh. That is why we are asking for you to vote Boothe & Berge March 8 and 9.