Austin Peay’s Student Government Association held its first weekly meeting of the fall semester on Aug. 25 and appointed nominees to three vacant positions.

The senate unanimously confirmed Gracie Haynes as chief clerk, Zaid Malik as speaker pro tempore and Emma Burns as parliamentarian.

Wednesday’s meeting was noticeably sparse, but members expect to have vacant seats filled in about two weeks. Many of the seats will be occupied by returning senators and graduates, and it’s possible that almost half of the members will be new senators. 

Chief Justice Nathan Toothman elaborated on the challenges of working with a somewhat inexperienced senate. According to Toothman, building chemistry between senators and learning Robert’s Rules of Order account for the bulk of the learning curve.

Still, Toothman is confident SGA will soon be running efficiently as familiarity sets in for new and returning members alike.

Campus voting drive coming in October

Brooklynn White, a senator for the College of Education, spoke during the meeting about an upcoming voter registration drive on campus.

White intends to recruit one or two volunteers from as many student organizations as possible to help with the drive and spread the word.

The drive will take place at Fortera Stadium on Oct. 2, 2021 from 4 to 7 p.m. and is part of a series of voter registration tailgates at public universities across the state. It is being spearheaded by the secretary of state’s office and other campus organizations.

Students attending the Tennessee State football game that afternoon will be guided through the process of registering to vote and will have the chance to ask any questions they may have about Tennessee’s voting system.

For more information, please contact Brooklynn White and the campus SGA.