By:Daniel Johnson, Staff Reporter | Photo Illustration by Scott M. Roberts, Art Director
Honors society members fail to attend elections
Alpha Upsilon Chi, the CNM chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa honors society, could be in danger of becoming inactive on campus.
T h e student organization’s offi¬cer elections, held on Friday Feb. 1, had a turnout of four mem-bers and no candidates running for open posi¬tions, said current chapter President and Biochemistry Major Levi Turner.
“I had a feeling this was going to be a flop, but elec¬tions will be resched¬uled for a future date when there is more of a commitment from members who wish to occupy the seats of the officers,” he said.
Alpha Upsilon Chi members are willing to ma k e a difference, but when it is time to take a posi¬tion of authority, active mem¬bers have been hesitant to step up, said Turner, whose tenure as president ends in May.
Nursing Major and Alpha Upsilon Chi member Jenessa Potts was one of the four attendees at the failed elections.
She said she expected the low turnout because there are not many cur¬rent members who give back to the organization.
“There are more people who want to get rather than to give; it is a ‘You scratch my back and I will see if I can scratch yours’ mentality. PTK has become an unspoken joke of the school,” said Potts.
M a n y me m b e r s come to one event and then do not participate in further events, he said.
“What you put into it is what you get out of it,” said Turner
Turner said he is designing a better process for event plan¬ning in an effort to encourage member participation.
Potts said the group needs to empha¬size that PTK is more than just something to put on a resumé.
“There needs to be a resurgence to revi¬talize the organization, since so many people are stepping away and if no one is able to fill the needed positions then things can go downhill quickly,” she said.
Potts said that this has made her seriously consider running for an officer position in the future, but that more members will have to step up for the group to thrive, she said.
“I just don’t know what’s going to happen to the PTK,” said Potts.
Former President of Alpha Upsilon Chi and Liberal Arts grad¬uate Matthew Liguori said he was saddened that the group was struggling to keep active members again.
“I had to put a lot of hard work to get an increase of active members and it took over a year to get a full officer team in to place,” he said.
Members should get more involved because they never know where it will take them unless they try, he said.
“A little investment can go a long way.
During my time, the group was rec¬ognized at a national level. We were formi¬dable,” said Liguori.
Turner said that Alpha Upsilon Chi can bounce back from this. He is hopeful about the organization’s future, he said.
“Don’t count us down and out, because we have come back from worse than this,” he said.
Alpha Upsilon Chi has a scheduled meeting on Friday, Feb. 8 from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Portable ST-12A on Main campus.
A new election date will be scheduled then, said Turner.
