SGB candidates introduce themselves at “Meet the Candidates” event
February 4, 2022
In preparation for the upcoming election, Student Government Board held a “Meet the Candidates” event on Wednesday night at Nordy’s Place. At the event, the two presidential and twelve board candidates introduced themselves and talked about their initiatives.
The Reform Slate, the Steel City Slate, the Dream Slate and the For You Panthers Slate as well as one independent candidate presented their platforms. Slates are groups of candidates with similar goals, like political parties. The candidates are competing for one presidential position and eight board member positions. Students can vote on March 1 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at pi.tt/sgbelections.
While the event was in person, only about 10 students attended. Victoria Chuah, the host of Pitt Tonight, moderated the event.
The Dream Slate consists of presidential candidate Danielle Floyd, a junior economics major, and three board candidates — Isabel Lam, a sophomore political science and economics double major, Alison Linares, a sophomore industrial engineering major, and Derek Dressler, a sophomore political science and psychology double major.
Floyd has three years of experience in SGB and is currently a board member and the vice president of initiatives. Her priorities include reducing sexual violence on campus and destigmatizing mental health.
Lam hopes to continue the progress she made as the chair of the facilities, technology and transportation committee. She wants to make Pitt a safer campus by continuing the work she has completed this term, such as hosting the safety fair and making crosswalk signs more visible.
Linares said she hopes to bring students together through SGB, which she said is a centerpoint for other clubs on campus. She said she hopes that being elected to the board will allow her to help all organizations on campus.
Dressler said, if elected, he wants to focus on accountability between students and elected representatives.
“I want to serve, represent, be an advocate for 19,200 and some odd students,” Dressler said.
The For You Panthers Slate is composed of presidential candidate Arjun Manjunath, a first-year marketing major, and three board candidates — Sophia Shapiro, a sophomore urban studies major, Celeste Lintz, a junior biological engineering major, and Bhuvitha Chagantipati, a junior music and cultural history and biological sciences double major.
Manjunath said the For You Panthers Slate’s strength comes from their diversity across campus activities.
“We have representation from athletics, the arts, Greek life, professional organizations, charity organizations on campus,” Manjunath said.
Manjunath said his goal is to increase campus engagement with SGB through events such as academic mixers.
Shapiro said she plans to enact the “In Case You Missed It Initiative” which would work to help give students some of the experiences they missed due to the pandemic, such as a prom.
Lintz said she wants to make University information more transparent and accessible for students. She said she hopes to advocate for students involved with Pitt athletics and Greek life due to her own involvement with those groups.
“Coming from diverse organizations and seeing what’s going on in each of those, especially from an online to non-online format, I want to run for SGB to fix those issues,” Lintz said.
Chagantipati said she also plans to advocate for the student body. She said she plans to increase student dining options due to her own struggles finding appropriate food from campus vendors.
The Reform Slate consists of two board candidates — Andrew Hunt, a sophomore political science major, and Tom Von Iven, a junior political science major. Their primary goals are making SGB more accessible to students and increasing transparency.
Hunt, who’s a member of SGB, said in the past year, he said he worked with another candidate, Isabel Lam, on projects such as the safety fair and SNAP benefits program. Hunt said he will push for initiatives that matter to students who don’t have a big voice on campus.
“As a board member, I think I could really push initiatives … of students who don’t have a big voice on campus, but still need an equal say,” Hunt said.
Von Iven said he plans to work to further the interests of Pitt’s newly formed faculty union among students as well as increase transparency within SGB if elected.
“I saw a lot of problems in efficiency and communication among some of [the current administration] and I wish to solve that,” he said.
The Steel City Slate consists of three board candidates — Daniel Temmallo, a sophomore political science major, Zeyad Amr, a first-year political science and urban studies double major, and Vidya Surti, a sophomore English and anthropology double major.
Temmallo’s personal initiatives include supporting the staff unionization effort and reforming communication to increase transparency within SGB by making all current SGB initiatives publicly available.
“We wanted to make sure people know and remember that the Student Government Board isn’t just to represent the students, it’s to represent this community,” Temmallo said.
Amr’s initiatives include creating more flexible dining options and making recorded lectures more widely available to students. Amr said he wants to be elected to create a stronger and more visible student government.
“I believe that I have the ability to return the SGB to an organization that is for the people, by the people,” Amr said.
Surti didn’t attend the event, although her slate members said her initiatives include reforming the Disability Services at Pitt and the Student Health Service.
Corbin Makar, a sophomore communication rhetoric major, is running independently for a board position. Makar said his primary initiatives include advocating for the LGBTQ+ community and creating more food options.
“I want to be somebody that you can approach, somebody, if they have a concern, they can talk to me no matter what,” Makar said.
