At the Rowan University Student Government Association (SGA) meeting this week held in Tohill Theater, the majority of the meeting was spent electing the litany of assistant vice presidents (AVP) who would fill out the SGA executive board for the next academic year.
The first election on Monday night was for the position of AVP of Student Affairs. The candidates for the position were Tim Alicea, Michael Viola and Michael Webster Jr. Viola, a sophomore marketing and management major, won the position. Afterward, he said his agenda was simple.
“Make sure that all students have a voice,” Viola said. “That we can get the resources that all students deserve on this campus.”
This was followed by the election for the AVP of Academic Affairs. Sophomore math and economics dual major Marcus Mitchell came away as the winner over Miriam Kontoh and Falisha Lormejuste. Mitchell said cohesion and flow in his job would be a No. 1 priority.
“Making sure to consolidate the different colleges’ resources,” he said. “Make sure that the community is a bit more cohesive, and when doing that, we’ll kind of improve as a whole.”
The third race was for AVP of Facilities and Operations. Prospective candidate Matthew DiCerbo was unable to attend the meeting, leaving Daisy Garcia the winner by default. Garcia, a freshman biology major, said that for her next year, communication is key.
“What I want to do is reach out to students and actually assess their needs,” Garcia said. “What I want to do is create a smartphone application in order for students to easily access SGA and students in SGA and easily communicate with us and assess their needs.”
Fourth up on the docket was the race for AVP of Club Development between Tolulope Abiona, Matthew Kyle and Riyyan Shariff. Kyle, a sophomore finance major, was the winner.
“I’d like to really make the club development process a little easier for a lot of clubs,” Kyle said. “Some people are very scared and intimidated by the process overall, so I want to make it easier and make it smoother for people.”
The fifth race pitted Tiffany Gonzalez against Misael Hernandez Jr. for the position of AVP of University Advancement. Gonzalez withdrew her name, leaving Hernandez the winner by default. When asked about his plan, the sophomore economics major said that cooperation with his group was key, adding that he “[plans] on working hands-on with them to get it done.”
The sixth and penultimate race of the night was for the position of AVP of Government Relations. The candidates were Rachel Benassutti and Kyle England. Benassutti, a sophomore political science major, said her main area of concentration would be on what she had already undertaken before winning the election.
“[My goal is] to continue doing what I have been doing this past year, which is fixing the election process,” Benassutti said.
The final race on Monday was for the position of Director of Public Relations and Special Events. Two candidates withdrew their names from the ballot, leaving a two-way race between Austin O’Neill and Yasmin Abed. O’Neill, a sophomore physics major, won the position.
“I really want to make social media accessible to all of our different clubs,” O’Neill said. “Whether that be running workshops or helping up-and-coming clubs to develop their social media presence.”
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