As the end of the semester approaches, one notable time starts on campus: election season. For JCU’s Student Government, the ballot for executive board elections is coming up even sooner.
On Oct. 24, the senators held their weekly meeting to confirm and approve nominees for the following positions: Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Director of Student Organizations, Director of Business Affairs, Vice President and President.
Many of these senators were nominated by President Jacob Kozlowski ‘24. When asked to comment, he replied, “at the start of this term, I laid out a list of bold initiatives. Each day, we are making progress on our promises. One of those promises was opening our organization up so more candidates and student voters have a say in the future of student representation at John Carroll.”
The nominees for Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging were all nominated by President Kozlowski ‘24. Senator Sahana Abbennagari ‘26 and Perleen Mundi ‘26 are set to run against incumbent Director Gia Hamed ‘25.
For the Director of Student Organizations, Alex Petrak ‘26 has been nominated. The position of Director of Business Affairs also has one nominee: Michael Noonan ‘26.
As for the two top positions in student government, the vice presidential nominees are Senator Tyler Capron ‘25 (nominated by President Kozlowski ’24) and Senator Michael White ‘25 (nominated by Senator Morgan Anderson ’25). The 2023-2024 presidential nominees are Senator Morgan Anderson ‘25 (nominated by President Kozlowski ’24), Senator Lauren Hoffman ‘25 (nominated by President Kozlowski ’24) and Senator Ryan Moore ‘26 (nominated by Senator Maggie Rumelfanger ‘26).
All these candidates, and especially the presidential nominees, will have the chance to make their cases at the 2023 Presidential Debate.
This presidential debate marks a milestone within student government, as this is the first official debate held since pre-Covid. President Kozlowski is especially looking forward to this event.
“Progress is having contested races at the top of student’s ballots this year and hosting a Candidate Forum and Presidential Debate event,” he explained. “We hope students come to the Atrium on Monday night and hear candidates discuss issues impacting their experience at JCU. This will be the first debate for a Student Government election in years and I am super excited.”
Those who wish to listen to the three presidential candidates nominated can head to the Student Center Atrium on Monday, Oct. 30 from 7-9 p.m. Donuts and apple cider will be available.
This week’s meeting was relatively short and ended with a plethora of information regarding various topics. Director Hamed ‘25 recounted a meeting with JCU President Alan Miciak concerning his email that addressed the war in Palestine and Israel. During the meeting, she voiced the concerns of many other JCU community members who felt that the email did not address both sides of the issue.
Current Director of Student Organizations Sara Sfeir ‘24 announced the approval of three new organizations: The First Generation Students Club (First-Gen), The After Hours Film Society and the East and South-East Asian Student Association (EASA). She also mentioned approved funding for two current organizations: The Latin American Student Association (LASA) and The Muslim Student Association (MSA).
Following the meeting, the candidates met together to have the rules and regulations of campaigning explained to them as well as the logistics of voting.
The Senate Elections are set to take place Nov. 21 and Nov 22. In-person voting will take place both days in the Student Center Atrium from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Online ballots will also be provided through email.
The Student Government’s next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 31 at 5 p.m. For any additional information regarding the elections, voting and meeting times, please contact [email protected].
