Non-voting UA members find positions still valuable

In the fall of her freshman year, College junior Tunmise Fawole got to be a part of the Undergraduate Assembly even though she had lost the general elections. The same year, College junior Eric Tepper became a UA member even though he didn’t run for a position.

Not all members of the UA are chosen by the student body during fall elections. Instead, these non-voting members, called associate members, are selected by the speaker through an application process after general body elections are decided.

UA Speaker and College junior Michael Karam said that although these members cannot vote on resolutions and budget allocations, they can still work on projects and make tangible administrative changes. There are currently four associate members, but more will be chosen after the next election cycle.

“Associate members are a way for the UA to expand its reach in the undergraduate population,” Karam said.

UA President and College senior Jane Meyer said associate members tend to either be students who have a general interest in student government, or those from specific student groups that would benefit from collaboration with the UA.

“Being an associate member gives people a taste of what being on the UA is like, so many decide to run for election during the next term,” Meyer said.

Fawole, who is now the Social Justice director in the UA, felt inspired to run again after her time as an associate member. She said that she was able to gain administrative contacts through the UA, while also working on niche issues she was interested in.

Fawole also found that her experience as an associate member was helpful while running for elections again.

“I felt like I was a more credible candidate — I could be more genuine and talk about the work I did,” Fawole said.

Tepper, who is now the secretary of the UA, shared similar sentiments.

“Being an associate member taught me a lot about the UA, and it got me to meet a lot of people and want to be a greater part of it,” he said. “It inspired me to run and become further involved.”

Meyer feels that choosing associate members through an application process rather than through elections is essential to the success of the organization.

“Just because someone loses an election doesn’t mean they can’t be a valuable member of the UA,” Meyer said. “We want to make sure that all students with an issue they want to solve or advocate can have a voice.”

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