Jared Stern, the only candidate for the Undergraduate Student Government presidential race, said Wednesday he is running on three key ideas: accountability, integrity and inclusivity.

Stern, a junior from Vernon Hills studying aviation management and flight, said he wants to increase student participation with USG. He plans to hold register student organizations accountable, including USG, “for actions, who they represent and how they address themselves.”

By Stern’s approximation, about half of USG’s 48 seats are filled and about 17 to 20 senators regularly attend meetings. Stern said this is not an accurate representation of the student population.To resolve this issue, he plans to update USG’s website to become more accessible to students, produce updated information about decisions on campus and inform students about how issues are handled by the student government.

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Integrity, Stern believes, is the most important component for his team, which consists of Rose Weisenstein, Ben Handler, Jami Hagemann, Ian Ritchey and Gabriella Piquini. He said strong integrity creates increased credibility, trust, support and the following of the students.

“We need to see firsthand the issues that students themselves are experiencing,” Hagemann, a junior studying biological sciences, said when asked about issues on campus. “That is going to start with us getting active on campus and us making ourselves known.”

The team wants people to know, “We are approachable and if they have any issues that they want addressed by the USG they can come talk to any of us,” said Handler, a junior studying aviation and business management.

Voting opens on Desire2Learn at 6 a.m. Tuesday and closes at 4:30 p.m. April 27.

Rebekah Sanders can be reached at [email protected] or 618-536-3325.