For two years now, the Government of the Student Body has seen its election commissioner suddenly leave at the worst of times. This is a trend that may have finally ended in the past few weeks.

In the past, GSB elections have struggled to promote interest and viable candidates, but with new Election Commissioner Alden Peterson, junior in mechanical engineering, taking the reins, the future is looking bright.

Peterson said his appointment as leader of the commission will bring stability to the position not only for this year, but years to come.

“First of all, I’m a second-year student so, barring any sort of unforeseen circumstances, I plan on doing this repeatedly. It might be a rough time this year, but next year and the year after that will likely be a lot smoother,” Peterson said.

In the near future, Peterson and the rest of the election commission will receive data from the registrar’s office that will help them determine apportionment for the election that will take place on March 10 and 11.

As a senator during fall semester, Peterson displayed an eye for detail on proposed legislation. Unfortunately, a change in scheduling kept Peterson from continuing with Senate, so the opening as Election Commissioner seemed tailor-made.

“Originally, this semester I was going to be unable to do GSB Senate because I was going to have a class conflict,” Peterson said. “And I was talking to Brian [Phillips] and Kelli Huser and they mentioned this, and I said ‘Oh, that’s perfect’ because I really enjoy working with student government.”

Another trend that has emerged in GSB’s elections in the past is an overall lack of interest from the student body. To help fix this obvious problem, the election commission has teamed up with GSB’s public relations committee to help spread the word.

Senator and PR chairwoman Elisa Berzins, junior in marketing, said getting students involved and encouraging students to vote are key goals during the upcoming elections.

Along with advertising and outreach, GSB President Brian Phillips, senior in political science, said an e-mail will be sent on Monday, Feb. 4, to inform students about the importance of getting involved with GSB and the election.

Peterson summed up the overall goals of the 2008 election for the by emphasizing student action.

“I hope we can just show people that GSB does do stuff and that people should want to get involved,” he said. “It’s their student government.”