Student Association Elections See Record Turnout

The 2025-2026 Student Association election results are officially in. 1,144 SUNY New Paltz students voted for the candidates they believe will represent them, and have filled the Student Association’s seats with like-minded peers. The Student Association welcomed 17 new students to their board, while 17 other positions remain unfilled.

Now representing the Student Association’s executive board is President Kamlesh Baral, Executive Vice President Takina Woodward, Vice President of Finance Nallyta Obeng, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Governance Sara Vala, Vice President of Programming Braiant Mejia and Vice President of Marketing and Communication Malachi Faulk. 

Additionally, representing the Student Association’s Senate include School of Liberal Arts and Sciences Senator Andrew Lennon, School of Education Senator Reymar Hallare, School of Fine and Performing Arts Senator Elizabeth Fan, School of Science and Engineering Senator Sydney Sladicka, Sophomore Class Senator Duncan Higgins, Junior Class Senator Denisse Hernandez, Senior Class Senator Markus Meyerpflug, Graduate Student Senator Daniel Nicholas and Transfer Student Senator Cutter Quinn. The Senator At Large Representative seats are filled by Sam Bibler and Juliana Leka. 

The unfilled positions include senators for all 13 of the campus halls, a School of Business Senator, a Freshmen Class Senator, a Commuter Student Senator and an International Student Senator. To fill these positions, an election will be held at the beginning of the Fall 2025 semester. If you are interested in running for one of the aforementioned positions, you can email the Senate Chair at SA-SenateChair@newpaltz.edu. 

Among the elected officials, one can find a diverse array of goals and sentiments. President Kamlesh Baral is focused on making the Student Association a helpful tool for the wellbeing of students. Baral’s primary goal is to “[make] more students aware of the Student Association.” 

“I was shocked to see that the majority of the students had no idea that the election was happening,” Baral said. He wants students to be more aware, as he thinks “it is important as a student to make changes.” 

Baral also wants to build a stronger student community. He said that he is going to “conduct weekly round table mental health discussions where anyone can come and express their feelings, share ideas, or just have a general conversation.” Baral is focused on “diversity, equity and inclusion.” These roundtables, as well as “prioritizing international clubs, different cultural programs and events on campus,” are very important to Baral for creating a “welcoming and safe environment.” 

For Sophomore Class Senator Duncan Higgins, a cleaner, more lively campus is key. Higgins wants the campus to focus on “what we’re doing with our waste.” He proposed that we put “compost areas or bins on campus.” In Higgin’s eyes, this would help SUNY New Paltz “actually contribute to growing the environment.”

Higgins also proposed that the Thursday market be brought back. He wants “the clubs to do it.” Higgins said, “We have clubs that make stuff. They should have the right to sell it.”

From roundtable discussions to compost bins, the newly elected members of the Student Association have a multitude of missions for the association to look towards.