Three weeks into their first year on campus, 24 freshmen have decided to run for Student Government. Voting opens Sept. 17, and students will have the opportunity to vote for their president, treasurer and six senators.
Elon News Network spoke to each candidate and asked what their motivations were for running. Official campaigning will take place for the rest of the week.
President
Felipe Pollini Prada Ferreira
Freshman Felipe Pollini Prada Ferreira.
“I’m Brazilian, and I want to make sure that people like me that come from other places — even around the world — are heard and are seen.”
Jonathan Mushi
Freshman Jonathan Mushi.
“I learned in high school that SGA does have a voice and can make a difference, and I feel empowered by this freshman class. I felt the energy during orientation week, and I just want to be a spokesperson for our class and bring change to Elon.”
Noah Mallion
Freshman Noah Mallion.
“I'm very excited to be in a community where I can run for a position that has real ability to make a real impact for our student body and make a positive impact for what students want out of the community.”
Tyler Mastrangelo
Freshman Tyler Mastrangelo.
“Your experience is my priority, and my goal is to focus on creating an unforgettable freshman year full of opportunities for fun, growth and friendship.”
Hazel Silverstein
Freshman Hazel Silverstein.
“I'm excited to hopefully use my passions to learn and listen to help us all have a fantastic year, hopefully start some new traditions and let everyone have some and make some new memories. And remember, Hazel has your back.”
Andres Roldan Alvarado
Freshman Andres Roldan Alvarado.
“I'm running for class president so that I can be able to represent my community and community as a whole and make sure everyone can stay connected and make a safe space for everyone, as we strive for a successful future.”
Tim Oligino
Freshman Tim Oligino.
“We're the most diverse class in Elon history, and I feel it's important to have representation, to really show some of the resources that Elon offers and create a forum, whether it be weekly, monthly open meetings for every member of the class — but particularly members of underrepresented groups — to come and talk about issues they may see and think that we need to move on.”
Reily Grace Wilson
Freshman Reily Grace Wilson.
“I really want to connect the gap between the students and the administration, and I feel like as the president for the freshman class, I would have an opportunity to do that. Instead of just focusing on one thing, I'll be able to listen to a lot of different groups and just help support them.”
Senator
Cabry Lueker
Freshman Cabry Lueker.
“I want to represent my community now, and then also I want to be a direct voice of the students. So in my mission statement, I gave out my personal phone number. I want constituents and people who are running for office, people who are going to be voting in the election, to reach out to me and tell me what the problems are that they're experiencing.”
Eli Karpas
Freshman Eli Karpas.
“I think students have a lot of power to make big decisions. Not just faculty, but students themselves, can help their peers, help themselves to have a great student life here on campus.”
Liv Glover
Freshman Liv Glover.
“I am ready to work with the young minds today, and I feel like I can be a messenger of information and able to contribute thoughts of others around the campus to suit a government in order to make this year the best one.”
Sarah Karpowicz
Freshman Sarah Karpowicz.
“I'm running because I want to bring the community together, find new, fun ways to interlock all the grades, going from freshmen to seniors, where we can make friends, explore new categories and show ourselves through our interests and our majors, minors, all of the above.”
Sofia Perez
“I am running because I want to provide an inclusive environment for all freshmen but just to make sure that our voices are heard, and that freshmen are getting the needs that we have met in student government and just in school in general.”
Vasiliki Diamond
Freshman Vasiliki Diamond.
“I really want the student body to know that the student government is there for them, that they have a voice and that it deserves to be heard. I believe, as student government leaders, that we should use a unique combination of creativity and compassion and logical thinking to solve the greater problems of Elon and build community.”
Ava Grivalski
Freshman Ava Grivalski.
“I've always been involved in high school. I was part of student engagement, I was a school ambassador and I was on a varsity dance team as well, along with a ton of numerous clubs and different activities. I definitely want to continue using my voice to help make a positive impact at Elon.”
Skylar Winter
Freshman Skylar Winter.
“Elon is all about making changes and commitment to making progress. And I think I can make real progress here as a freshman and in my next four years. I believe in making students' resources more accessible to all and especially marginalized communities. It is my goal to support, help and aid all students, academic and mental journey through high school, through college.”
Ayla Gonzalez
Freshman Ayla Gonzalez.
“I'm a first-generation student to attend college, and I want to be a voice and advocate for first-generation students as well as Latinx students, and be the voice that I can for the Elon community, staff, faculty, students, anyone and who is a freshman here at Elon is going through many different emotions right now. We're going through many different things, and I want to be able to provide that safe space for them to advocate for themselves.”
Venus Soto Castaneda
Freshman Venus Soto Castaneda.
“My main motivation for running is that this year is like the most diverse school year, right? And so I really want to be able to put that diversity out, especially for the smaller voices in this school. I want to make sure that everyone can be really represented in a fair and equal manner, that they can really just talk to us and be able to say, ‘This is something that's going on,’ and they can trust us to help them.”
Autumn Parish
Freshman Autumn Parish.
“I want to make sure that those diverse classes are heard and they make sure that they can have an influence on different organizations, because there's so many opportunities here at Elon. And I want to make sure that they are a part of it, and that they make their voices known and that their outreach to everything that they can and make sure that I can be a voice for people that can't say anything.”
Treasurer
Marlie Barhorst
Freshman Marlie Barhorst.
“I think I'm a very social person as is, and SGA is all about echoing the voices that you hear on campus and the things that people want, whether that's small or big movements. And I think that me being social, and interacting with people from different backgrounds, different areas and different states and in state and out of state, and public and private and different majors and all those kind of things, and to be able to take those voices and echo them to make a real change here at SGA.”
Omar Khamis
Freshman Omar Khamis.
“At my old high school, I was really stuck in a tough position, because I was always trying to ask my school for funds for the extracurriculars I was in. I remember for three years up until graduation when I was doing fencing, we were playing with ripped gloves and jackets that would not zip. And I remember going week after week to the president's office and talking to our athletic dean asking for funding, and they were completely ignored. So I want to make sure that no one in Elon is going to be put in that position where they need funds for a specific need, or they need something like that. So I want to be the voice for that.”