Candidates for the 2014-2015 Student Association executive board delivered speeches at the weekly SA meeting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday March 26. This was one set of speeches in a series that are delivered throughout the election process. Speeches will also be presented to Inter-Residence Council, Academic Affairs Committee, Alliance for Community Enrichment and Activities Commission.
There are eight SA executive board positions along with the position of SUNY student association representative. Seventeen candidates have expressed intent to run, and 14 gave speeches at the meeting. Each candidate was given one minute to speak. After the speech, the individual who currently holds the position asked a question. The floor was then opened to three questions from those attending the meeting.
The two candidates for president are sophomore Andrew Hayes and junior Harry Dole. In his speech, Hayes cited previous experience in leadership, particularly as class president of the class of 2016 and as a member of the Student Senate.
“What I first think of when I hear [Student Association president] is advocacy and support,” Dole said. He could contribute his experience in communication with administration in various areas to the position, he said.
Current Vice President of SA sophomore Paul Michael is running for the vice presidency again, unopposed. He said, if elected, he would continue to work toward a policy for medical amnesty in his next term.
Candidates for the position of director of business affairs are juniors William Fagan and Andrew Kang. Fagan said that he wants to foster one-on-one communication with club representatives. He also focused on providing education about SA financial processes to those involved.
Kang said he hopes this position would allow him to get more involved on campus. He said that his experience as an intern at a startup firm based in New York City prepared him for the position.
The candidate for director of academic affairs is junior Tushara Surapaneni. She is the current vice chair of the Academic Affairs Committee, the subcommittee under the position she is running for. She said she would carry on the projects she has worked on in her current position.
Junior Caroline Goldschein spoke as a candidate for the position of director of inter-residence affairs. Goldschein said her experience with Residence Life through multiple channels qualifies her for the position.
“I’ve seen so many sides of it,” Goldschein said.
Junior Alexis O’Hara is the candidate for director of student programming. She said that she has close bonds with members of the executive board of Activities Commission that will allow her to move into the role and accomplish things right away.
The candidates for director of student affairs are junior Santiago Uribe-Cano and sophomore Gina Villazhinay. Uribe-Cano talked about his personal connection to ACE and his desire to give back to the community.
“I would thrive in the environment of the ACE, not so much telling them what to do but more spearheading their efforts,” he said.
Villazhinay said she has been an SA representative before and was involved in multiple organizations that developed her leadership and time-management skills.
“I’d like to keep promoting and encouraging culture and diversity through our campus,” she said.
Sophomores Nicolette Lukacs and Carolyn Thornton are the candidates for director of public relations.
“My outlook for this position is to promote the things that students want to be promoted.” Lukacs said. She added that she would hold open forums to gather information about what students wanted from her position.
Thornton said she hopes to spread information to all Geneseo students through this position. She noted focusing on the Responsible Community Action Policy and furlough days.
The candidate for State University of New York student assembly representative, junior David Ernst, was unable to be at the meeting, along with several other candidates who were also unable to attend.
Students can vote in the elections on KnightLink; the polls close at 11:59 p.m. on April 2.