malloryb@lopers.unk.edu

Two UNK sophomores are constructing their campaign for Student Senate elections. Campaigning began Feb. 21, with elections starting March 1.

Temo Molina is running for Student Body president. Molina is a member of the Honors program, the UNK Locke & Key Society and the Sigma Lambda Theta fraternity. He said he decided to run since he was interested by the the policy level involved in student advocacy. 

Ethan Ciancio is running for vice president. Ciancio is a part of LPAC, is the performing arts co-chair and involved in the Honors Student Advisory Board. He decided to run because he wants to leave a lasting impact on campus that he can be proud of. 

Inspired by campus construction, Molina and Ciancio designed their campaign with the theme of “building UNK.” Their Instagram account is called “temo.ethan4unk”, with their first post including construction tape and a Loper-blue background.

Their campaign points include improving communication, pushing for student wellness, using student feedback and backing student organizations.

The pair wants to focus on the lack of communication on campus. 

“I know plenty of people have events they want to visit, but they have no idea of when or where it is,” Ciancio said. “When they do find it, they already have plans or prior commitments and can’t make it.”

They want to use QR codes for students to voice concerns. The codes would work for students that don’t have time availability or don’t want to speak in front of others. Another idea they have was to implement focus groups and see which levels of communication work best for students. 

In advocating for student wellness, Molina and Ciancio want to increase the immediacy of mental health services.

“We have students who want to speak with counselors, and they have to wait two or three weeks just get in,” Ciancio said. “Depending on the situation, it can be alright, but for a lot of students that isn’t soon enough.”

The candidates want to make the Student Health and Counseling services more known to students across campus. They said this effort goes along with their desire to improve communication on campus.

Lastly, they want to use student feedback to make change. 

“There’s getting information out to students,” Molina said. “But there’s also receiving information from the students to advocate for their needs.”

They would use emails and the UNK student government Instagram page as a hub for information from students.

Molina said that conversations on campus about mental health and communication are looking up, but he and Ciancio plan to continue the improvements.

“There’s always room to do more, because there’s only so much that we can do,” Molina said. “Our best position is to advocate for students and their needs.”New student government officers will be announced at 6 pm on March 2. Student government meetings are in The Antelope room from 5:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. every Tuesday.