Assistant News Editor Jackie Stark sat down with newly-elected ASNMU President Chris Storves to ask him about the upcoming school year.

NW: As president, what changes do you hope to make?

I don’t really hope to change anything. If I’m president, I really want to make sure that the board stays as strong as they’ve been this year. We’ve done a heck of a lot of projects. I want to try and kept the board motivated, have as much fun we had this year.

NW: How about changes on campus for students?

I would love to make sure the study lounge takes off again. That is a big deal.

Currently, we’re working on an online syllabi project. I’d like to get the ball running on that. Essentially, and this is all still pretty basic, students need to have something before they register for classes. Somewhere in Northern’s vicinity online, you can access a part of the syllabus, to see what the class entails.

Here’s an example. You don’t know what EN 211 class to take. Well, if you don’t like critical writing, don’t take section D. If you like to read books, take A or B, something like that. It would essentially be another resource, similar to the course bulletin.

As for the study lounge, making sure the funding stays (is important). It’s a lot of money to come up with, but it’s a resource for the students. Everyone that I’ve talked to loves it. We need to make sure to continue that.

And to continue with things that we do like Dozing Discounts, Wildcat Wallets, things like that — really make sure that those continue to grow because they are valuable resources.

NW: How did you feel about the voter turnout?

The voter turnout really disheartened me. We didn’t even bring in 1,000 votes.

NW: Is there anything you’d like to see changing, just to see a better turnout?

I wish I would have campaigned more. The way I look at it, it’s ASNMU’s job to tell people there is an election, which they did; they put up posters; they did things along that nature. It’s the candidates’ job to rally votes. I’ll admit it, I did not campaign as much as previous years, and it directly reflected in the polls. If I had gone to more student organizations, gone to more hall meetings, things like that, there would have been a higher turnout because more people would have been informed.

NW: Did you feel that students didn’t care about voting?

I don’t think students don’t care. Students do care, I saw that on the campaign, after standing outside all day. They were asking me questions, trying to be involved, finding out where to go to get information like how to find out who’s the best candidate. Students do care.

NW: How would you plan to get students involved, in voting, or in on-campus groups?

People who are involved tend to stay involved, or want to become more involved. It is essential that we keep using these student organizations. The point of college is to experience life. To a point it’s about getting the grade, but I’ve never been a good student, and I never will be. But I’ve gotten the most out of my college experience that I possibly could They’re going to turn you into a well-rounded person. I want students to be involved because the second I got involved, I started caring more and more about everything that Northern has to offer: grades, friends, just being a part of something bigger than myself.

NW: How would you have more students, especially incoming freshman, get involved?

Summer is crucial for any president, to make sure they know we are there for them, from day one, talking to incoming orientation classes.

Trying to let the new people know, it’s scary to get involved right away, but you’ll become an old pro at it really quick, and you’ll meet some cool people along the way. I just want students to have fun at college. And getting involved is one way to have fun.