Sometimes even after a rigorous election, the USG senate still has openings. ‘ Sometimes the openings are from senators who resigned earlier in the year, or from positions never filled. ‘ Either way, the senate can go through an appointment process to bypass another election and fill those empty seats as soon as possible. ‘ ‘As long as there is a vacancy in the senate, we are able to appoint somebody to the senate,’ said USG Speaker Eric Young. ‘ Current senators fill out a recommendation form, Young said, including the recommended person’s GPA, class standing and a personal statement from the current senator. ‘ The president looks over the form and decides if the appointee warrants an interview. If yes, the appointee interviews with the president, vice president and speaker. ‘ Then the general assembly votes to accept the new senator or not after a Q and A with the appointee. ‘ While some students might think their voices are being disregarded, Young said this process was just as democratic as holding elections. ‘ ‘The vote from the senate is by extension a vote from the students,’ he said. ‘ Last year, 18 senators were elected and seven senators were appointed for this year. Nine resigned this year. ‘ On the amount of resignations, Young thought people were getting overwhelmed by the work required. ‘ ‘I think that the problem lies with people not fully understanding their responsibilities in USG,’ Young said. At-Large Senator Johnnie Lewis said whenever he appointed senators, he made sure they knew they had to attend each weekly meeting, as well as fulfill office hours and outreach hours each week. ‘ Because Lewis also said the amount of outreach a senator does can matter more than whether they were elected or appointed. ‘ ‘I’ve appointed some really good senators in the past,’ he said. ‘ He said appointed senators with the ability to get out and talk to their constituents and put in the office hours can represent the students just as well as those who were elected. ‘ ‘What you do with those minimum requirements is up to you,’ Lewis said. ‘The only reason I’ve been successful in USG is that I wanted to be successful.’ ‘ Secretary Jessica Kremer said senators with busy schedules can pick up each other’s slack, but each individual has to make the commitment. ‘ ‘People want you to do your jobs,’ she said. ‘People don’t usually recommend someone who can’t do the job.’