The Progress Party has returned.
Led by party President Dave Schneider, the Progress Party registered Thursday morning with the Supervisor of Elections.
"This is the same Progress Party with the same ideas," Schneider said.
The move comes after the formation of a Progress Party caucus over the summer. Schneider said the caucus was organized because it wanted to address the Student Senate's response to issues like the shooting of graduate student Kofi Adu-Brempong more seriously.
Schneider said he felt there needed to be a more serious voice in Student Government.
"Both parties in Student Senate are not interested in political participation among students," he said "We're interested in radically changing the system so that it represents every student's interest."
Unite Senator and Allocations Committee Chairman Ben Meyers said his party has had a great working relationship with the Progress Party in the past.
Meyers noted a collaboration from the summer when he and Progress Party Sen. Jose Soto co-authored a resolution calling for the formation of a review board to monitor the actions and policies of the University Police Department.
"I think there's a history of cooperation between both parties," Meyers said. "We admire the activism of Progress."
Student Alliance Senate Leader Jon Ossip said in terms of having a stake in the election, he hopes there aren't three parties vying for Senate seats in this fall's elections.
"If there are three parties, the winner is Unite," he said.
Senate President Kara Olesky, of the Unite Party, said she appreciates all points of view in the Senate, and she feels much more can get done that way.
"I've always enjoyed working with Progress Party," she said. "They are a great group of people."
According to Schneider, the Progress Party will have a presence in this semester's elections.
"We're most interested in making sure students feel represented," he said.
