Members of Student Government Association’s (SGA) general assembly and executive board packed into the Student Center Pit to hear speeches by candidates running for several positions in next year’s senate.
Two positions were run for unopposed. Peace Nwankwo is running for the position of recording secretary and Robert O’Leary is running for the position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the executive board. Each candidate made their speech and then ceded the table to the remaining candidates.
Before the Q&A began, each candidate on the ballot released a short statement, which was collected and placed on a packet with the statements of other candidates. This was in order to help people in attendance at the pit make a decision.
The first question and answer session was for the vice-presidential candidates. The candidates are sophomore biomedical science major Kevin Daus, junior marketing and advertising major Chris Albano, freshman international studies and law and justice major Miriam Kontoh and sophomore economics and biology dual major Misael Hernandez.
During the VP portion of the event, candidates stressed what would make them right for the job. Daus mentioned that his preparation and organization led to him becoming an eagle scout in the boy scouts organization, skills he said would translate well. Albano said his self-driven and motivated nature would help him fulfill the duties of his office. Kontoh noted that while she is a freshman, her passion and desire to fulfill the duties of her office would be enough to overcome her lack of experience. And Hernandez stressed that his prior experience serving in SGA would be valuable if he won the office.
The next and final portion of Q&A time was reserved for the presidential candidates. The race for the presidency is between sophomore marketing and management major Lauren Bitzer, junior health promotion and wellness major Tiffany Gonzalez and junior accounting major Timothy Alicea.
When asked about what they hope to accomplish if elected president, each candidate focused on several major points.
Gonzalez said that improving the livelihood of students on campus is her number one priority.
“I want to make sure that the campus resource center is used and utilized,” she said, citing an SGA project previously reported on by The Whit.
Gonzalez also mentioned that increasing Rowan police patrols later at night and making the SGA presence on campus more visible are things she is hoping to implement.
When interviewed, Bitzer said she is looking to improve student safety at Rowan.
“I want to start an app that will incorporate lots of tools,” she said. “For example, it would have a toolbox with a flashlight, an alarm system and an option to take a picture of things and send them back to public safety.”
Several of her other initiatives include getting student workers on campus priority registration and adding coin machines to the laundry rooms.
For Alicea, he is looking to improve affordability and accessibility for students on campus. He also wants to improve the quality of campus life, but with a focus on recreation.
As for another policy he hopes to implement, Alicea said he would look to improve safe spaces for students on campus.
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