SGA fall elections off to the races
By Dylan Pichnarcik
Editor-in-Chief
Nineteen students are running for 24 senate seats this fall as SGA ramps up its election season.
Candidates for senate stated their case for why they should represent the student body in a candidates' night forum, Tuesday, Sept. 15.
Each candidate had two minutes to speak. Following the event, a campaign period of three days will take place. Then on Monday, Sept. 21, voting will begin and will continue until Sept. 23 at midnight.
The students running for the open senate seats are Desiree Ambila, Xavier Roman, Jayden Jefferson, Vilmarie Santana, Zyasia Kemp, Jamila Daikha, Troy Edebiri, Kercheena Pamphile, Allise McCullough, Aeesha Kibodya, Kerri Graham, Evelyn Richter, Louis Ranieri, Jadelyn Bailey, Jayla Ross, Gracie Wyatt, Marian Awuah, and Nemiah Gerald.
Jefferson said she is running for SGA because she is interested in the financial review process undertaken by student government.
“I want to make sure that every student's voice is heard, and just to be able to connect with more people on campus. I really want to get outside my bubble, and also I'm running because I care about the student experience here, and I want to improve campus life and try to advocate as much as possible,” she said.
Ambila, running for senate, said she gained leadership experience as an orientation leader, a role “which has taught me a lot about funding, communication, and teamwork, and especially about resources. And one thing I'd love to contribute to FSU is more advocacy for creative arts like dance, theater, or film.”
Awuah, also running for senator, said she is running so she can “continue to help the FSU community. … I also want to just help to continue to improve SGA.”
Ranieri, running for senator, said, “Every student deserves to be heard, included, and represented. I want to help create real change by addressing inequality, listening to students' concerns, and making sure everyone has a voice. I'm not promising that I can fix everything immediately, but I promise to listen, speak up, and work for whatever change I feel or you feel needs to be made.”
Kibodya, running for senator, said she is running because “I want to be someone. I want to be someone who students can always come to, whether it's major campus issues or simple issues. I want everybody to know that their voice matters.
She added she gained leadership experience as JROTC commander and as president of her high school’s student council, citing her hope to one day be SGA president.
Santana highlighted the importance of third spaces in her speech for senate, along with “other events and activities that have grown my involvement on campus and have improved my mental health by way more than you guys think.”
She added, “And I feel like, especially for the freshmen, just looking back, having that time to explore who they are outside of their majors and outside of their immediate interests, is something that is such a privilege that us being on this campus, we really don't realize that we have until we go out into the other parts of our lives.”
Daikha said she is running for senator to encourage more women to get involved.
“If elected, I hope to listen to my peers and bring more inclusivity, support, and positive change to our campus,” she said.
Bailey said she is running for senate so she can be one of the changemakers on campus.
“Another reason why I'm running for senate is that I care very much about diversity and spreading awareness of social justice issues. I think it's very important that we spread awareness about injustices in the world, and I think it's very important not to turn a blind eye to current issues that we're having.”
Edebiri said he is running to support students.
“I want to become a beacon and a voice to everyone else who wants to be heard and wants to be seen, people who just want to provide for stuff, but, like, don't have this voice for it. They just want to go to someone, go to me, a beacon of hope.”
