It’s election season at Fordham Lincoln Center, as students interested in running for United Student Government (USG) senate positions are sending out their application packets. The race for the Vice President of Affairs position will also run concomitantly, with two candidates already registered.

On the evening of Sept. 9th, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) and Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center (GSBLC) undergraduate students received an email from the president of USG, Leighton Magoon, (FCLC ‘17), informing them that election packets have been released. According to Magoon’s email, the positions are recommended for anyone “interested in working with clubs on campus, planning formal events and town halls, and creating sustainable change here on campus.”

While the submission deadline for the freshman senator and vice president of student affairs positions applications was last Thursday, upperclassmen of FCLC interested in running for Senate can still submit their packets by Thursday, Sept. 17, at 5 p.m. The GSBLC senator position was filled at the end of the past semester, therefore there will be no new election. Packets can be picked up in room 408 of Lowenstein (LL408).

In order to run for senate, candidates need to collect 25 signatures from students in their respective class, as they would be the ones casting  votes. Those running for the VP of affairs position must raise 50 signatures, from any student of FCLC, including the freshman class of 2019.

According to the president of USG, Leighton Magoon (FCLC ‘17), this year the club has gotten “quite a few applications from folks interested in senate positions.” The election packets are a way of “getting to know the people who are running, finding out what drew them to running, if they have experience organizing events and so on,” Magoon continued. Once the applications are in and the applicants are notified, they can start campaigning. All posters must be approved by the Election Committee, abiding by their posting policies. Additionally, any posters that candidates want posted in McMahon or McKeon must be approved by Residential Life in Room 108 of McMahon.”

“If folks who run don’t happen to win, we would be more than happy for them to still participate in USG.”

There will be no debate between the candidates to the vice-presidency this election, due to “how quickly everything happens in September,” Magoon said.

Students will be able to vote via OrgSync, from September 16th to the 18th. The winners will be notified right away and will assume their positions as such. Due to the expanded deadline, upperclassmen will be notified by Sept. 23. However, Magoon asks that candidates do not hold the election as an “end-all, be-all,” and wants to emphasize that “if folks who run don’t happen to win, we would be more than happy for them to still participate in USG, as members, or participating to our events, or in any other capacity.”  Pictures of the candidates will be posted on the bulletin board in front of the Ram Cafe, for passing students to acknowledge.

USG held its first meeting on Thursday, Sept. 3rd. They will have weekly meetings, on Thursdays at 12:30 p.m, starting in October. For students at Lincoln Center, the proverbial door to participation is “always open,” as Magoon said.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article printed that the dates in which students can vote is on September 15-18, when actually the dates are September 16-18.

CORRECTION: It has been added to the original article that “any posters that candidates want posted in McMahon or McKeon must be approved by Residential Life in Room 108 of McMahon.”