Student candidates are campaigning for the 2018-2019 senatorial,  vice presidential and presidential positions. Student voting for senatorial and presidential candidates opened today on April 25 and closes April 26 at midnight. All candidates need a minimum of 500 votes each.

At a debate in the DeVos lobby on Thursday night, April 19, the candidates shared their goals for next year.

Two students are in the running for student body president: Edgar Aguilar and Selvi Bunce.

Bunce said her campaign slogan—”Get Real”—embodies her entire vision for Calvin. To explain what Calvin-wide initiative she would implement, Bunce shared an example of a close friend who took a self-defense class:

“She was telling me all these positive things about women’s self-defense, how you learn to be empowered, especially for freshman women where you’re coming to a new place and there’s so many more people.”

Bunce hopes to implement self-defense into first-year seminar for both male and female students, because, as she said, “It is very important to feel empowered.”

Aguilar’s campaign slogan is “Here for You.” Aguilar said he is running for student body president because he believes the student perspective is under-represented in decision-making processes at Calvin.

“My campaign platform is based on three words: vision, accessibility, and continuity,” he said.

Sophomore Emerson Silvernail, a senatorial candidate, wants to increase awareness of disability services at Calvin.

“As a dyslexic I qualify to get notes taken for me, and I have had good notes taken and I have had poor notes taken.”

She suggested that the service could be improved by giving a stipend to students who take good notes.

Kennedy Genzink, a sophomore and current senator, has high hopes for the candidates. She said the current senate wants their successors to be “a group of people to who are interesting in continuing the positive, hardworking legacy.”

As the debate ended, both senatorial and presidential candidates promoted their slogans and encouraged the students to cast their votes on April 25 and 26. Ballots will be sent to students via their Calvin email accounts.