For the past month, Student Government executive slates have been vying for president, vice president as well as Senate candidates.

For those who haven’t been paying attention, Student Government hosts its elections on an annual basis in the spring semester. After elections, a new Senate is seated, the president and vice president are sworn in and a Cabinet is selected.

So what does Student Government do? Advocate for students.

This week, students will be voting for one of three campaigns: Austin Graber and Vishesh Bhatia; Cody Woodruff and Analese Hauber; or Benjamin Whittington and Annaliessa Michelotti.

However, such a big role is often decided by a small majority of students. Only 17.8 percent of the student population voted in last year’s election and only 24 percent voted the previous year. With that low of a turnout, your vote can have a large impact. Students can vote online at vote.iastate.edu or in person at the Memorial Union near the West Student Office Space.

In years past, the Iowa State Daily Editorial Board has endorsed an executive slate. This year, we decided to do something different by instead writing an open letter to whoever is elected this year:

Congratulations on becoming the newest president and vice president of Student Government at Iowa State. Once the celebratory season is over, it’ll be time to get down to business.

There are a couple of things we would like to see happen over the remainder of this semester and into the next academic year.

First, we would like to see an increase in communication and transparency between Student Government and the student population. With recent events between the executive and legislative branches, it is essential for the next set of leaders to prioritize conflict management and building an inclusive student organization.

Second, maintain the dialogue with Iowa State leadership regarding the current state of trademark. Student Government should continue to keep up the fight for the students that the new policy has impacted. Student Government has the resources and connections to be a strong force within administration. We hope the newly elected representatives can come up with a solution that both satisfies the university’s legal team, as well as benefits students.

Third, the Iowa State Daily Editorial Board encourages the next set of leaders to push for more mental health resources on campus for students to access. This can come in the form of more mental health professionals on staff, educational pamphlets at all major hubs of activity (dining centers, the Memorial Union, library, etc.) or even lectures and panels discussing what specific mental health issues are out there and how to address them.

Oftentimes during election season, candidates promise a lot of things that they can’t always see to fruition. As long as the next president and vice president keep the best interests of Iowa State at the forefront of their minds, then the student body will be in safe care  In the end, we would like what is best for the student body, and the students are putting trust in you to do so.

Good luck. We look forward to seeing what you accomplish over the next year.

Sincerely,

The Iowa State Daily Editorial Board