The races for Community Senator and International Senator will be decided in a special election that will take place on Thursday. The Justice attended the “Meet the Candidates” event on Monday and interviewed prospective senators about their goals if elected.

The position of Community Senator is outlined in Article Ten, Section 8 of the Union Bylaws. According to the law, the Union is required to hold a special election for this position if there is “no demonstrated interest among constituents of a certain residential area to hold office as a Senator.” The Student Union can then hold a special election “open to the entire undergraduate student body to fill any empty positions.” The community senators will serve in place of the two Class of 2021 Senators and the Ziv and Ridgewood Quad Senator positions, for which no one ran in previous special elections.

Community Senator (2 Seats)

Tyler Carruth ’23 is running for the position of community senator. As a first-year student, Carruth has immersed himself in the Student Union by attending several committee meetings, including the Senate Dining Committee. In an interview with the Justice at the forum, Carruth emphasized his work with the Senate Dining Committee, and if elected, he hopes to continue working with the Dining Committee to further address student concerns. Additionally, Carruth said that he will “be representing a lot of people and a lot of different quads and classes” and that his main priority will be focusing on communication between the Union and its constituents. Carruth outlined his plans for the Justice, including intentions to cultivate relationships with Senators of different quads to better understand the issues that each quad faces. Furthermore, if elected, Carruth intends to coordinate with several on-campus departments in efforts to make campus-wide activities more accessible and available to all students.

Shivam Nainwal ’22 is also running for the position of Community Senator. He did not submit a candidate bio and did not attend the “Meet the Candidates” event. 

International Senator (1 Seat)

Chloe Yu ’22 is running for the position of International Senator. Yu said in an interview with the Justice at the forum that she is actively involved in both the domestic and international communities and hopes to further integrate the two. Yu commented that she has three primary goals that she hopes to accomplish if elected. She aims to increase the availability of on-campus jobs for international students, to assist in providing more accommodations for international students during extended breaks and to “break down social barriers between international and domestic students.”

—Emily Blumenthal contributed reporting