Updated as of 5:06 p.m. on March 20 to change the main photo.
With 1,308 voter ballots cast, this year's student government association election concludes. Despite the relatively low voter turnout compared to last year, SGA announced the results of the 2024-25 student body elections with 11 positions unfilled out of 60 spots.
As for senior commencement speakers, due to a tie, there are four finalists instead of three: Grace Ackermann, Ayesh Award, Garret Fitschen and Mike Sanderson. This marks the first time students have voted on this position.
Junior Taylor Cote was the only candidate to apply for and was elected as student body president.
Junior Amanda Jacobson was elected as executive vice president, which was a newly added position. She expressed excitement and happiness. She noted that this position marks a first-time occurrence, highlighting the potential to strengthen both the student body and the Senate with an additional executive member.
“Having one more exec member is just going to make the student body in the Senate even stronger. So I'm very excited,” Jacobson said.
Jacobson also emphasized her desire to prioritize mental and physical health and well-being within the Senate and beyond. Drawing from her background as a health science senator, she emphasized the importance of incorporating strategies to support overall wellness.
“I want to find ways to incorporate more mental health and physical health wellbeing — for not just the school — but the Senate as well,” Jacobson said. “especially when you're trying to get stuff done, you need to do it while taking care of yourself.”
Junior Maddie Williams was elected as the class of 2025 president, and among the class of 2025 senators are Drew Fetterolf, Robin Falkow, Anna Matawaran and Jack Sheppard.
For the class of 2026, sophomore Noah Biggers was elected president with sophomore Emily McAninch elected as treasurer and sophomore Selma Maric, Julie Snow and Hasan Khan serving as senators.
Freshman Michael Swartz leads the class of 2027 as president for a second term, alongside freshman treasurer Elizabeth Shum and senators Ashley Benson, Ellie Agulnek, Kiley Sherlock, Parker Schloss and Oliver Keicher.
Swartz expressed his excitement for the upcoming year, emphasizing the opportunity to build upon the progress he made this year.
“I'm super excited about what the next year will hold and the fact that we get to build upon the progress we made freshman year and hopefully make everyone have the best sophomore year possible,” Swartz said.
With this being Swartz's second time elected, he said he felt less nervous having gone through the process before.
“I also had a great support group around me from the people that I met within student government, the past semester, but I was excited nonetheless and feel very fortunate to be here,” Swartz said.
Swartz said his primary goal is to serve as a dependable advocate for students, being available to address their concerns and promptly act upon their needs.
“I want to change or add lots of little things, whether it's new on-campus job opportunities, or planning big events for the class like Mardi Gras,” Swartz said. “My main goal is to address issues as they arise and be that voice and that person students can come to whenever they need anything.”
Students and candidates gather to hear the results of the 2024-25 SGA election as the winners of different positions are announced at Medallion Plaza on March 19.
College of Arts and Sciences senator winners include Kaelise Lane, Mary Ntirenganya and Viluzmar Castellanos Gonzalez, and Love School of Business senators include Jocelyn Gomez, Chloe Hamilton and Ryan Voisard.
Gomez expressed her excitement about her new role. As a business fellow and a woman in the business school, she described the experience as surreal and emphasized the significance, especially as a woman of color representing the entire business school community.
“Being a woman in the business school it's a surreal experience,” Gomez said. “It's just really cool, especially to be a woman of color and to be able to represent the entire business school. I really love it so I can't wait.”
In terms of changes she hopes to bring, Gomez mentioned the need for more trash cans in the business school. Additionally, she aims to ensure better communication about events and activities within the business school to keep students informed in advance.
“It's the most random thing ever, but it's like a huge topic of conversation with everyone in the business school,” Gomez said. “Also just making sure that everyone knows about everything that's going on at the business school at all times.”
Junior Chloe Hamilton raises her arms in celebration of her win as senator for the Love School of Business at Medallion Plaza on March 19.
In the School of Communications, Viha Patel serves as a senator, while the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education is represented by Claudia Haspel and Alyssa Collins.
Anna Burfeind was elected senator for the School of Health Sciences, Kennedy Steiner senator for civic engagement, Brianna Crawford senator for community and Madeline Mitchener senator for HealthEU.
Lastly, Jinelle Gonzalez was elected as the senator for inclusive excellence, Connor Vaughn the senator for mentorship and Caroline Renshaw the senator for sustainability.
Current Student Body President Britt Mobley noted his excitement surrounding the addition of new members.
“I'm really excited about the new Senate, I think it's a very vibrant group, a very excited group, and a very new group,” Mobley said. “A new Senate means that you have new perspectives. You have new opportunities to reach a wider range of the student body.”
Regarding Cote's candidacy for president, Mobley said he underscored the significance of relationship-building for the role.
“Focus on building relationships. That's a huge part of your job as president, it's managing people. You're not doing a whole lot of legislating or doing a whole lot of programming,” Mobley said. “We're kind of at the 30,000-foot view with the rest of the exec, and so with that, work and focus on relationships. Building those will be of high importance.”
In the aftermath of the announcements, SGA extended an invitation to students interested in joining the organization, highlighting the availability of 11 positions awaiting appointment post-election.
“I'm excited for them as they go on this journey together,” Mobley said.