The University of Connecticut Student Government elections close today, and unless you’re someone who follows school politics closely, this upcoming election may seem daunting. With this guide, you’ll be able to find out who is running for what office, how to vote and more.
For the office of president and vice president, there are multiple candidates running. The first pair of candidates is Christine Jorquerra and Noel Mitchell. Best known for their involvement with the Justice Now Initiative and the Cultural Appreciation Series, Jorquerra and Mitchell hope to fight racial injustice, address food insecurity and combat inequalities made by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Students shouldn’t feel like they have to prioritize an exam or going to class instead of dealing with their mental health at that moment,” said Jorquera during the presidential debate when speaking about her platform.
Then there’s Mason Hollan and Ethan Wrestler, a duo whose goals are “building a campus where every student feels safe to be themselves and is empowered to demonstrate compassion for one another, even in disagreement and strife,” according to their USG profile. Hollan was previously the president of UConn’s branch of the NAACP along with being a member of the UConn Collaborative Organizing Public Education and Outreach Chair.
Finally, there’s Nicholas Xenophontos and Abigail Moran, both formally tutors, and both have no prior experience with USG. However, Xenophontos and Moran say they want USG to have a bigger online presence through emails and social media. They claim, “ We receive nearly daily emails from the UConn Bookstore, but are largely kept in the dark over the actions of our own government.”
Other positions that will be on this year’s ballot include senators from the School of Engineering, the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the School of Business.
When it comes to the board of trustee’s race, this is an uncontested race lead by Noah Frank. Formerly the director of USG’s External Affairs Committee and president of Pi Sigma Alpha, Frank’s platform includes supporting the mental health of students, clean energy and smart spending.
Then there’s Maggie Khuu, the sole person running for the UConn Foundation Student Director. Khuu is currently the vice president of the Graduate Student Senate at UConn and some of her goals if elected as president are to make sure that student voices are heard and to promote inclusivity and accountability on campus.
Another candidate who is running unopposed is Brittany Diaz for USG Chief Diversity Officer. She is currently the president of UConn Collaborative Organizing and wrote the Mental Care Act which was passed by USG. Diaz also worked on the implementation of having the Anti-Black Racism course be a graduation requirement.
Then there’s Christopher Bergen, the unopposed candidate for comptroller. As a former senator of the School of Engineering, Bergen wants to take the nearly $3,400 in student activities fees and evenly budget it amongst the 700 clubs on campus. He also claims that only $90 out of the $3,400 budget is put towards clubs and activities on campus.
Polls started on Tuesday and will close today at noon. Students can log into UConntact and vote for whoever they like in each of the categories. In order to be eligible to vote, you must be a fee-paying student.
