At the last Council of Organizations meeting of the semester on April 23, Council Chair Shayna Bentley introduced the candidates for next semester.
The Student Association (SA) Senate Chair Alberto Aquino said he received a position with Teach for America and was asked about his experience working with the student senate.
“It’s not uncommon to lead a club but at student senate you’re representing every student you meet,” Aquino said. “Who can say on a resume that they helped ratify a $1.5 million budget?”
He then spoke about each position on the SA E-board and the work they entail. Aquino said a majority of the E-board is graduating, making this a very important election that can change the direction of government for years to come.
Following this, Bentley introduced the candidates running for the five E-board positions.
Sen. Josh Simpson announced his candidacy for SA president. He said if anyone has lingering problems or trouble, they should feel comfortable enough to approach him for help.
Those running for executive vice president are: Sen. Manuel Tejada, who has worked on the initiative of extending Student Union (SU) hours and library hours; Sen. Mathew John, current member of the Budget and Finance Committee (BFC) and campus escort; and Sen. Richard Jean-Louis, who is planning on enhancing meal plans and bettering relations with the University Police Department (UPD).
Those running for vice president of finance were not at the meeting although Bentley said they were current-Vice President of Finance Youssouf Kouyo and BFC member Lisette Espinal.
Those running for vice president of programming are Henry Lino and Jesse Solotoff. Solotoff was the only candidate at the meeting. He said if he gets this position, he aims to make changes and to exceed the requirements of his title.
“I want your opinions to be counted and to matter,” Solotoff said. “I don’t want to just give you what you want but what you actually ask for.”
The last position on E-board is vice president of Academic Affairs and Governance. There are currently two people running for this position: Sens. Jonathan Espinosa and Ramelle Liverpool. The only candidate at the meeting was Espinosa. He said as a senator, he has already met his goal to get a printer installed in the SU and aims to be a strong advocate for education and the power of the student body.
Following this, Bentley called up students running for senate positions and asked them to give a brief introduction before the meeting ended.
The current students running for senate are Solotoff, Molly Thurson, Lisa Wojehowski, Roberto Lobianco, Sampson Oppedisano, Barbara Cvenic, Zachary Rousseas, Toni-Ann Stevens and Andre Smith.
Students will have access to voting on my.newpaltz.edu at noon on May 7 to May 9 at 11:59 p.m.