After a busy year, Oakland University Student Congress (OUSC) is running an election to select its president, vice president and legislators for the next school year.

OUSC strives to increase unity on campus through leadership, initiatives, events and programs. As its mission statement states, OUSC is the voice for every OU student, and aims to “meet the needs and address the concerns of our fellow students” and encourages students to voice their ideas to create the best “Oakland experience.”

To achieve its mission statement, electing new officers to lead the organization is one of the most important tasks not only for its members, but also for the organization as a whole. Each of these three positions has a specific and important role that plays into teamwork. 

The role of the president is to facilitate the operation of the executive board. The president makes sure that each executive member has what they need to pursue their projects and initiatives.

The role of the vice president is primarily involved with facilitating the legislature. The vice president chairs the general body meetings and ensures that each legislator has what they need to proceed with their projects.

Legislators are the final decision makers for anything that the executive board wants to do. They approve the budget, vote on any members that get appointed in between elections and they decide any policies the Congress publicly states. 

Legislators also pursue their own projects, which means that they can lobby to get their projects done as long as it is possible for Congress to achieve their goal.

Anyone interested in running for one of these positions should fill out a form to declare their candidacy. The deadline to declare candidacy is Monday, Feb. 15. 

According to Ethan Bradley, current president of OUSC, those who are planning on running for vice president or president are strongly encouraged to find a running mate, though they are not required to find someone.

“I encourage all potential candidates to attend an OUSC meeting to see what they will be getting themselves into,” Bradley said.

The election itself will take place in the third week of March via a form on OUSC GrizzOrgs page, where any OU students are welcome to cast their vote.

“Qualities that tend to make a good candidate for any of these positions are experience in leadership and self-management,” Bradley said. “None of these positions are under the direct control of somebody who tells you what projects to work on, so candidates should be able to come up with ideas of how to make the University better and they should know how to pursue those goals on their own initiative, which includes knowing when to ask others [in OUSC as well as outside] for help.”

The student body meetings are on Mondays at 4 p.m. on Google Meet. For more information about meetings or the upcoming election, visit Campuslabs, or email Ethan Bradley at [email protected].