Q&A: Meet the 2024-2025 SGB president and vice president 

Student Government Board announced the results of its 2024-2025 election at its Tuesday meeting at Nordy’s Place. 

Marley Pinsky, SGB’s current community and government relations chair, was elected president, while Olivia Budike, the current facilities, transportation, and technology chair, was elected vice president. The Pitt News spoke with the president-elect and vice president-elect to discuss their initiatives for the upcoming year.

Q: What are your top priorities for your term?

Pinsky: I want to use my role as president to advocate for the University to prioritize students over profits. The University focuses more on appealing to new students rather than improving conditions for those already paying tuition. Additionally, in the face of attacks from the current presidential administration on diversity in higher education, I hope to push Pitt to promote an inclusive and accessible campus proactively. 

Budike: My top priorities are improving student engagement with SGB, making allocations more accessible and advocating for student needs. I also plan to engage with various student organizations to uplift student voices. I want every student to feel heard and represented.

Q: What is the first thing you plan to accomplish in office?

Pinsky: I want to establish tabling office hours for SGB chairs, board members and myself. SGB leaders hold office hours every week where students can come talk to us about their concerns, but to reach us, students have to, one, know we exist in the first place, two look up our office hours on our website and, three, take time out of their day to go up to the eighth floor of the WPU. 

Budike: One of my first goals is strengthening communication between SGB and the student body. That means ensuring students know what resources are available to them and feel comfortable coming to us with concerns and ideas about campus safety, transportation or accessibility. I want to make sure we’re meeting students where they are. 

Q: What do you think will be the biggest challenge in your role, and how do you plan to tackle it?

Pinsky: I think my biggest challenge will be navigating the diverse perspectives on campus, particularly in relation to Israel-Palestine and student protests. One of the campaign points I ran on was defending student activism. The Code of Conduct adjudication process has been weaponized against students and organizations holding certain political beliefs, particularly Students for Justice in Palestine. Because of the tensions associated with pro-Palestinian activism, some feel that since I am committed to defending student activism, this threatens Jewish organizations. I want to clarify that I would never interfere with any student or organization’s rights to exist or practice freedom of expression. 

Budike: A major challenge will be tackling our allocations budget, ensuring that funds are distributed equitably and that there is enough money to go around without raising tuition costs. I have proactively engaged with the manual and its revisions, and I plan to continue working closely with allocations to make the manual more accessible. 

Q: What does being SGB President/VP mean to you?

Pinsky: I know that I am about to step into a very significant role where I have the potential to make a lot of change. Specifically, I want to pressure the University to invest in affordable on-campus housing and tap into its resources to lower the costs of food and tuition. I know being president carries a lot of weight on a day-to-day level. It means I am one of the first student voices that incoming freshmen hear at convocation. It means that I am someone who many students will turn to with concerns, and I look forward to listening and working to support them. 

Budike: Being vice president means having the opportunity to advocate for students and improve campus life. It’s about leadership, but it’s also about service. I take this role seriously because I know the decisions we make can have a real impact on students’ experiences.

Q: What motivated you to run for this position?

Pinsky: I have so much respect for the people I work with in SGB, but I think we could be doing a lot more as a whole. Aside from club leaders requesting allocations, students don’t really hear from us unless we’re campaigning or involved in a controversy. This is not ideal. I specifically wanted to run for president because this position allows me to set the tone throughout SGB. 

Budike: I was motivated by a passion for student advocacy and a desire to make a difference. I want SGB to be a more approachable, transparent and inclusive organization. Throughout my time on campus, I’ve seen firsthand how important it is for students to have a strong voice in university decisions. I wanted to ensure that voices are heard and that real change happens. 

Q: What’s one thing you wish more students knew about SGB and what it does?

Pinsky: There’s plenty I could say, but I want to emphasize this — every student should know that SGB has a lawyer that offers free legal consultations to any student not exclusively enrolled in the College of General Studies. If you are looking to rent off-campus, it is highly advisable that you consult with the lawyer to review your lease. 

Budike: I wish more students knew about resources like resource lockers, SOOS organizations, grants and UCC counseling. I also wish they knew that SGB is here for them. We will advocate for their needs. Please come to public meetings and talk to us.