By Leanne Vastbinder, Opinion Editor
The Student Government Association’s elections have concluded, and presidential candidate Gabrielle Altenor and vice presidential candidate Mac Foley will be next year’s new executives after running unopposed.
They ran with the campaign slogan “NU vision, NU voice, same values.”
Altenor said she decided to run for president of the student body because it seemed like the next step after serving a year on SGA as senator.
“I’ve always had an affinity towards things policy related,” she said. “I really like the fact that I can combine my interests with advocating for the students and being one of their student leaders who can fight their battles.”
Altenor said she and Foley were surprised when they learned they were running unopposed for executive office.
“It kind of puts a lot of extra faith into the only candidates we have. It means in my eyes that the students are expecting a lot from our specific ticket and executive board, as they should,” Altenor said.
Foley, who served as secretary for the 2019-2020 SGA, said he is excited to continue to serve on SGA.
“As representatives of the student body, that’s a huge responsibility. I’m just honored that I get to be a part of that,” he said.
Foley said a big part of their campaign is promoting diversity.
“Diversity will be the identity of Newman. That’s the trajectory, and we need to change with it in a positive way. I’m excited to represent the students and be part of this change for Newman,” Foley said.
Ultimately, Altenor said, she’s excited to take on this new challenge and help the students at Newman.
“Being in a position where you can foster positive change on a daily basis is one of the main reasons I love SGA, and I get excited at the possibilities we have to better the school and the campus,” Altenor said.
Altenor and Foley have selected Shanice Gitungo as their secretary and Martin Pham as their treasurer.
There were 13 students running for senator positions and all of them received a seat in SGA. The social science senate seat and business senate seat were one-person races, while the science and mathematics senator seat had 11 candidates competing for the position.
The social science representative for the 2020-21 SGA will be Elizabeth Raehpour. The business representative will be Paige Wallace. The science and mathematics representative will be Talia Powers. At-large senators will be Angres Garcia, TaTyTerria Gary, Nkama Kimfuema, Jonathan Liu, Carolina Mariscal, Minh Nguyen, Jordan Ojile, Micaela Ortiz, Shayla To, and Anna Veltien.
Courtesy photo graphic provided by Kayla Garvert with NU Student Life
