This year the Executive Board of Student Government, Inc is running largely unopposed.
Each year the Executive Board gets together and creates a name for the ticket which they will run.
“eXcel is a ticket name. Each person running the ticket has to choose their own unique name,” Magnum Chu, elections chairperson, said.
Under the eXcel ticket, Fabrice Armand is running for President, Johanna Ellerup for Vice President, Jenny Tam as Secretary, Andrew Jarrett as Treasurer, Brian Chambers for Senior Senator, Christopher Coes as Junior Senator, and Giuseppe Siena for Sophomore Senator.
Student Government, Inc. includes two student representatives from each class in each school along with committee chairs.
eXcel stands for Excellence in Community, Education, & Leadership.
One post that is being contested is the position of vice president.
This year’s independent runner is Louis Saavedra, who currently is a Sophomore Senator. He will be facing for the vice president position of SGI Johanna Ellerup. Ellerup is currently the President of the American Pharmaceutical Association (APHA).
“Any concerns of the freshmen and sophomores, they come to me. I’m one of seven who meets up with Father Harrington once a month on student issues and student concerns,” Saavedra said. “Senators are like class presidents. As a senator we organize events for our own year. We go to senate meetings, where all the professors and the deans are, and we are the one to vote on student issues and concerns.”
Saavedra is excited and ready to move on up to the position of vice president. He believes he has a lot of ideas and knows what he would like to accomplish if he wins the elections.
“The reason why I’d like to run for vice president is because not only have I been in government for two years, and one year on the Executive Board, but I really know what it takes to do it. I’m positive and I have good ideas. Vice president is the person in charge of all the committees,” Saavedra said.
According to Saavedra, government should be doing more and communicating more with the students. Student government also needs more voices and volunteers.
“Johanna and I are good friends. I say all the time, nothing changes. We are both here for the same cause- improving government. And if I lose or she loses, we know we are on the same page. We’re not going to quit,” Saavedra said.
Ellerup also has been a member of SGI. Last year she was approached for the vice president position because of her multi-tasking and organizational skills.
“I do the best I can do. I don’t like having my name on inferior work. I am very passionate about things,” Ellerup said.
“I want SGI to be as good a voice for the different organizations on campus. We need more of a hands on approach if they have any problems,” Ellerup said.
According to Ellerup, eXcel wants to increase the awareness of Student Government. The only publicity they have is during the elections. They want to have completely open meetings, make membership more fun, and get students more involved.
“It’s a passion for us,” Ellerup said. “We all have worked with each other, so we know there won’t be any personality conflicts. We work together as a family.”
Ellerup also helped create the ticket name, along with the other candidates running for the Executive Board.
“We want to get the students more involved. We want academics to foster excellence in education. Everything we want includes excelling,” Ellerup said. “In order to really do it well, you have to be there for those associations. It’s a tremendous amount of work. You have to live and breathe it in order to excel in it.”
Ellerup is working under a lot of pressure but she says it is not a negative pressure.
“I am working with fantastic people,” Ellerup said.
Saavedra and Ellerup are both looking to increase student involvement within the organization. “We need more interaction and to open it up to more people,” Saavedra said.
The Executive Board elections are March 26 and 27. The Representative elections will be held April 16 and 17.
According to the “Spring Representative Election Packet 2003-2004,” created by SGI and Student Activities, Student Government is the “parent organization of all other undergraduate student organizations on campus. It is the channel of communication from the students to administration.”
Applications for all Representative Elections are due April 7. All candidates must follow the rules and guidelines located in the “Spring Representative Election Packet 2003-2004.”
