First-year students made up nearly all of the winners in Columbia’s Student Government Association fall elections on Tuesday, Sept. 15, with nine elected to represent their schools and campus communities.
The influx of first-year senators comes as Columbia welcomes a large incoming class this fall. Columbia welcomed about 1,100 new students, up from 632 first-time, first-year students last fall, as the Chronicle previously reported.
“Overall I think it’s really exciting to have so many new students want to be involved.” SGA president Ameila Lutz told the Chronicle. “There is always a sense of nuance that I think new students bring with so many different areas of experience.”
First-year musical theatre major Desmond Mitchell, who was elected to the On-Campus senator seat, said his previous experience leading a high school speech and debate organization taught him the importance of listening to the people he represents.
“I got to connect with so many different people from all different schools and people within my school in particular,” Mitchell said, “but being a leader is not just about growing a team and winning trophies. One of my favorite parts about being the captain was connecting other people and hearing their voices.”
Ten of SGA’s 23 student representative seats were filled during the election, leaving eight positions open for a second round of elections. The senators represent Columbia’s academic schools as well as various communities of students across campus.
Lutz, a senior film and television major who was elected in the spring semester, said she wants to focus on communication between students and the administration.
“I want to focus on the student body. I feel like there’s been a lot of lack of communication that sometimes happens between the administration and student body, which is something administration is aware of.” Lutz said. “And it’s something that I hope to continue to grow and foster because I feel like that is the most important thing. I also really want students to feel comfortable, like coming to me and telling me their gripes, telling me their grievances.”
Elections are held every semester except for the E-Board members who wish to continue to be in their role. Other members of the board are:
- Junior musical theatre major Danielle Lang is executive vice president.
- Sophomore acting for stage and screen major Rosa Weinand is vice president of Communications.
- Senior fine arts major Michael Kowalkowski is vice president of Finance.
- Senior fine arts major Mason Lawson is the student representative to the Board of Trustees.
Lutz’s focus on communication is also a priority for students who want a clearer connection with their representatives.
First-year Adrian Mills, who ran for an on-campus representative seat but was not elected, said he wants representatives to make themselves accessible to students.
“I would want the representatives to make themselves known about who they are, someone I can reach out to by posting online or boards around campus to let me know what I want to say I can share,” said Mills, an Arts and Entertainment Management major.
Three students were elected to academic senate seats during the first round of elections:
- First-year fashion design major Caroline Broberg was elected as the Fashion senator.
- First-year business & entrepreneurship major Calvin A. Magnan was elected as the Business & Entrepreneurship senator.
- First-year acting for stage and screen major Conner Bui was elected as the Theatre and Dance senator.
Seven students were elected to community senate seats:
- First-year photography major Mackenzie Bizub was elected as the Visual Arts senator.
- First-year fashion studies major Aline Hernandez was elected for the Diversity and Inclusion senator
- First-year musical theatre major Desmond Mitchell was elected On-Campus senator.
- First-year journalism major Ella Pape was elected Mental Health senator.
- First-year film and television major Juni Cortes was elected 1st Year senator.
- First-year comedy writing and performance major Zachary Saunders was elected Honors senator.
- Senior acting for stage and screen major Robert Dunbar was elected as the Disabilities Student Advocate senator.
“I wanna be someone who can talk to someone to listen, take their ideas and make the community a better place, I wanna be someone to make a change.” Cortes said.
The second round will be held next week at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 22 at the Loft on the second floor of the Student Center. Students are able to run for the remaining open positions.
The number of open seats continues a pattern in recent years as SGA works to attract students to run for representative positions. In February, only one of nine open senate seats was filled during the spring election. SGA members cited Columbia’s smaller student body, academic workloads and scheduling challenges as factors affecting participation.
“I think every year is a brand new year,” Lutz said, “there’s so much excitement going, between students, between the people there and it really makes me feel very excited for this upcoming year,” she said.
Copy edited by Mia Smith
