Geneseo’s new Student Association executive committee has been elected for the 2017-18 academic year. Adolescent education major junior Kailtlin Pfundstein (right) will serve as SA’s new president, replacing current SA president senior Michael Baranowski (left). (Ash Dean/Photo Editor)
Geneseo Student Association held campus wide elections for eight new executive committee members beginning the week of March 7.
The election ballots were distributed via email and tied to a referendum vote that resulted in the decision to keep Student Activity Fees mandatory instead of voluntary. Around 20 percent of the Geneseo student body participated in the election, according to current SA President senior Michael Baranowski.
The newly elected SA President is English adolescent education major junior Kaitlin Pfundstein. Pfundstein is currently serving as SA director of Inter-Residence Affairs and said she feels that holding this position has allowed her to make meaningful connections with different members of the administration, which will help her to better represent the student body.
“I’ve had some experience with how SA functions from an administrative level, which I think has prepared me to take on a bigger leadership role than I currently hold, and I’m going to be able to provide more guidance not only to our organizations, but also to the e-board and I’ll be a representative of the students to the administration,” Pfundstein said.
Pfundstein plans to focus on the concerns of students and to help resolve issues they care about. She also hopes to use the new website, Geneseo Speaks, to learn about student concerns of which she may be unaware.
Economics major junior Jarred Okosun has been elected as SA’s new vice president. Okosun has held many positions involving student affairs, including serving as an orientation advisor and a resident assistant. He believes that this position will allow him to make a larger impact on the school.
“I hope to empower a lot of the student organizations we have, especially the culturally based, or the minority clubs,” Okosun said.
Mathematics major junior Alberto Alonso will serve as the next SA director of student affairs and diversity. Alonso was previously involved in the SA subcommittee, Alliance for Community Enrichment; he believes that his experience with the organization will aid him in his new position and in achieving his goal of spreading multicultural awareness.
“I hope to create an inclusive environment for people to enjoy,” Alonso said. “Despite our differences, we can all come together to establish a community that is beneficial for everyone.”
Business administration and communication double major sophomore Julia Sisti was elected SA director of student programming. As a member of the Geneseo Community Activities Board, her goals are to increase GCAB’s popularity and to facilitate greater collaboration amongst the SA e-board and its various subcommittees, according to a phone interview with Sisti. In doing so, she hopes to bring about greater on-campus activities for students to enjoy.
Physics major sophomore Barak Stockler is the newly elected SA director of public relations. Stockler’s main goal while serving in his new position is to help more students learn about SA and to increase its overall awareness on campus.
The newly elected SA director of academic affairs is physics and mathematics double major sophomore Corey Wilkinson. Wilkinson would like to improve general education classes and to transfer matriculation while working for SA next year.
“There are a lot of SUNY mandated changes that have to be worked out academically, and I want to be the liaison for that,” Wilkinson said. “I’m also working on that with the curriculum rework, so I’d love to be that voice for the students as we figure out how to make the general education classes better and easier for transfers and easier for native students.”
Physics major junior Zachariah Barfield will serve as the new director of inter-residence affairs, and aims to maintain and to improve the communication between residence hall representatives. He also hopes to expand upon advocacy initiatives within the inter-residence council. To fix this, Barfield proposed a possible campaign to increase the flow of communication between the hall council and residents.
Business administration major junior Supriya Juneja has been elected SA director of business affairs. In this position, Juneja hopes to make clear for students how SA is spending their money.
“I think it’s my responsibility to tell students where their money’s going and what clubs are on campus, especially to incoming students. They should know what clubs are on campus and what they do,” Juneja said.
Regarding those newly elected, Baranowski expressed praise and believes that the students will do an incredible job in their new positions.
“We have a lot of people that have a lot of talent, and are very smart,” Baranowski said. “I think they’re going to do a fantastic job.”
Staff writer Tyler Waldriff contributed to the writing of this article.