By Claire Latsko & Kitty Williams | Staff Writers
Salve Regina University’s Student Government Association (SGA) is a student-run organization that acts as a liaison between the student body and the university’s administration. This past week, Salve’s campus was plastered with posters and students’ Facebook feeds were spammed with promotion posts for the upcoming SGA elections. These annual elections are held to allow the Salve student population to vote for these positions within the organization. The Student Activities Office decided to host a debate among the candidates for President and Vice President of the student body. This was the first SGA debate that Salve has hosted in seven years. So, if you are unsure who to vote for, and did not attend last night’s debate, then check out each candidate’s platform and goals below.
Candidates for Vice President:
Abigail Gray:
Abigail Gray is a rising sophomore with a year of experience as a SGA senator. “I was inspired to run because of my fellow leaders,” she said. Gray believes she could do a good job of representing the students and giving them a voice if elected vice president. She said that she wants to be elected so that she can take the initiative now and create change instead of waiting until she is an upperclassman.”I want to get the ball rolling with change now,” she said.
One of Gray’s goals include increasing school spirit. She believes that it is important for students to support their friends and classmates. The main way she plans to heighten school spirit is by increasing attendance to athletic events that are off campus by having more fan buses. Another goal Gray has is to make the process of creating a club on Seahawk Connection easier for students. She wants her role to create a welcoming atmosphere that encourages students to create clubs and talk with her personally.
Gray says that she wants to work together with clubs to achieve their goals, and doesn’t want to be too restricting. She says that she is the best candidate because she has been able to see the issues as a freshman, and can work towards implementing change sooner rather than later.
Lauren Healy:
Lauren Healy was appointed vice president of SGA in the fall after serving as the head of the Safety and Security Committee. If elected vice president for the 2016-2017 school year, she plans on making clubs more successful by removing funds from inactive clubs and redirecting those funds towards clubs that have proven to be active on campus. Healy wants to show the university’s administration how vital clubs are to the campus climate, and show them how hard these clubs work to achieve their goals. Healy wants students and clubs to feel comfortable approaching SGA for help and use SGA as a resource for questions that they may have. “Clubs should be given the tools they need to run,” she said. She likes to establish a personal connection with each club in order to properly assist them.
When asked about Seahawk Connection, Healy said that a plan is currently in place to simplify the website and make it more user friendly, while also increasing advertising for student and faculty use of the site. On matters of club participation, Healy began by saying that Salve’s campus has a certain culture; there are the extremely involved students, ones who are somewhat involved, and those who are not involved in clubs at all. By supporting club leaders, Healy hopes that other students will see the success of these clubs and that will encourage more students to join organizations. “Changing campus climate will take time, though,” she said.
Healy concluded by saying that she is nowhere near done with her work and has much more to show if reelected.
Candidates for President:
David Fairchild:
David Fairchild, a rising junior, is the current treasurer of SGA with experience as a senator. In his first year as senator, Fairchild said that he fought for positive change, with one of his largest projects being the installation of new washer and dryer units in the freshmen dorms. As treasurer, Fairchild works with club leaders, as well as a $300,000 club budget. Through this position, he has found a genuine desire to help student-run clubs achieve the most they can on campus. Fairchild emphasized the importance of regular interaction with students and believes his other leadership roles he will have next year will benefit him if he is elected president.
During the debate, Fairchild stated that SGA needs consistency in order to run efficiently. On a campus that changes so much from term to term, the students need a consistent SGA staff during the school year. When asked about campus revenue and expenditures, Fairchild said that he has worked hard as the treasurer to remodel the annual budget hearings for clubs and organizations, as well as have each club create expense reports. When it comes to minority groups and diversity on campus, Fairchild said that he wants to ensure that those students feel like they have a voice. In the end, though, he feels that it comes down to education. “You need more understanding of what’s around you,” he said. With that better understanding, Fairchild hopes that if elected president he can become the public figure for the student body that is approachable and that creates a “culture of change” on campus. “What can we do for you?” he said. “Together we can make it happen.”
Main Goals: First, Fairchild wants to create a transparency between SGA and the student body. He wants students to know what SGA is doing and how it will affect them. The best way to do that, in his opinion, is to speak to people directly. “If someone wants to know something, then you tell them,” he said. Second, he wants to stress the point that nothing matters more than the student. Each student matters, and Fairchild wants every student to feel like they can be helped. Finally, Fairchild strives to live on a campus that’s content with who they are. He wants every student to be properly represented by creating a culture of students that know that SGA will do something for them, and will care.
Adriano (Andy) Cirioli:
Andy Cirioli served as president of SGA last year up until his resignation in November. He also has experience as a both a senator and treasurer on SGA. During the debate, Cirioli said that SGA needs to start shifting its focus on trivial issues to bigger picture ones that the students on campus need to be having a conversation about. He stressed the importance of servant leadership at a school with a Mercy mission. The SGA President’s job, in his opinion, is a position of servant leadership; he wants to serve the students in the best way possible. Cirioli told the crowd that he would be incredibly blessed if the student body gave him a second chance. “I want to finish what I started,” he said.
Cirioli would like for there to be greater communication between SGA and the students in an effort to maintain transparency and to make sure all students on campus are given a voice. On matters of fiscal responsibility of clubs, Cirioli says that SGA needs to teach clubs how to be more responsible with their budget money to get the most out of what the club has to offer; in turn this will allow the institution to grant more money to the clubs on campus. When asked about representation of minority students on campus, Cirioli said he has been spending a lot of time listening to students of minority in the time since his resignation. “To effectively represent someone, you need to be able to listen,” he said. Cirioli thinks that students need to become more culturally competent, and that with his now heightened awareness, he can be part of the solution.
Main Goals: First, Cirioli wants to let people know what, and who, SGA is through better communication. He wants to prove to the student body that SGA can represent who the students are and what they need. Second, he wants to expand the number of individuals that engage with SGA. There are students that SGA does not work with on a daily basis that need to be reached as well. Finally, Cirioli said he wants to empower the senators, and that can only be done with an “effective and supporting president.”
Cirioli stated that not all of his or Fairchild’s goals will be accomplished in only one year of serving as president. “SGA needs to earn the respect of so many more people on campus,” he said.
Make sure to cast your vote for not only the SGA e-board, but the senators as well. Voting will take place online this Wednesday, April 20th and Thursday, April 21st on the Seahawk Connection website. Polls will close Thursday night, and the SGA members for the 2016-2017 school year will be announced publicly Friday morning.
