The University of Minnesota’s Professional Student Government has finally found a presidential candidate.
Second-year law student Rachel Cardwell filed to run for president of the professional student government group Thursday.
Cardwell’s filing comes a day after the All Campus Election Commission gave PSG, which hadn’t been able to entice any professional program students to run for president of the group, an extended deadline for candidates to file for elections.
Cardwell is president of the University of Minnesota’s Federal Bar Association and serves on the Student Sexual Misconduct Subcommittee, a panel that hears and rules on sexual misconduct cases at the University.
She is not involved with PSG or other professional councils.
“It’s in my wheelhouse,” Cardwell said. “I’m not extremely familiar with PSG, but I do learn quick on my feet and I would have Max there to show me the inner workings.”
She said she was unfamiliar with PSG until about six months ago when she learned that fellow law student Max Hall was the president and was added on to email chains to familiarize herself with it.
She said her law background and her passion for collaboration will help her advocate on behalf of PSG.
She plans to talk with various professional student councils to shape her platform, and meet with vice-presidential candidate Keerthanaa Jeeva to collaborate.
Cardwell’s filing comes a day after the All Campus Election Committee gave PSG an extended deadline for candidates to file
The extended deadline for candidates to file is Feb. 26.
Though ACEC originally denied the request for the extension, they changed their minds because of the lack of candidates for a presidential opening, said Tommy Keller, ACEC co-chair and organizational liaison.
“We just felt it was important to give PSG an attempt to try and fill those executive positions,” Keller said.
Graduate and professional student governments have historically had low turnout for presidential candidates.
The Council of Graduate Students has had three straight unopposed elections and PSG has had one in the last three years.
In its last year before it split into COGS and PSG, the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly had two candidates in 2014. In 2013, three candidates filed but two withdrew before the election.
