SGA Candidates...
In their own words
(Excerpts taken from official candidate statements)
President
Matt Van Vossen
Over the last two years, the highlight of my academic career at UIS has been serving my fellow students on SGA as the Senator to the College of Public Affairs and Administration. Throughout my tenure I have come to know the campus and the shared concerns of the student body. To many people UIS is not the school they know it could be and I feel the same way. The problem is blatantly obvious when the number of students who come in as freshman compared with the number of those students who actually decide to graduate here is examined.
Throughout my service on SGA I have tried to combat the simply grievances that my fellow students have had, knowing that it was the little things in life that make a campus feel like a home away from home. Still the major issues remained unaddressed. However, under the guidance of a pro-active, unwavering President, someone who won’t take ‘no’ for an answer and who will be willing to say ‘no’ when necessary, UIS can become a vibrant place to live. I am hoping to be that President.
I believe that if you don’t like the state of things, you then fight to change it and to make it better. Two years ago I started my fight and now to follow it through, I’ve come to the point where the only way I can continue fighting is by receiving your vote for President.
Vice President
Charles Olivier
Holding the position of Vice President gives me an opportunity to make the changes that everyone else talks about and deal with the issues of ongoing budget cuts due to a our current political situation and retention issues. Throughout my academic career, I have made my stamp on campus and I have what it takes to carry out the responsibilities of this position. I am a candidate who represents a diverse population on campus through various activities and organizations. My voice and my issues represent the student body. I am an advocate for students’ issues and I consider it a priority to be approachable by faculty, staff, and students campus-wide. I am not new to the UIS SGA executive board, which equips me with the knowledge to handle issues most effectively. Despite not being a newcomer, I learn new things each year and I try to raise the bar for commitment and consistency of the organization.
Senator of Public Affairs and Administration
Ryan Melchin
I believe that the Student Government Association at UIS should be actively engaged in making this University the best that it can possibly be. I would like to see the SGA work on ensuring that higher education funding becomes a priority for the state of Illinois. In this area, I feel that I bring to the table the ability to communicate effectively with members of the General Assembly, on both sides of the political aisle. As your Senator for Public Affairs and Administration, I will do my part to ensure that the leadership in Illinois understands the need to invest not just money into our university, but a commitment to ensuring a quality education for all.
Student Trustee
Derek Felix
I am a person who fights for what I believe in and I think that has shown over the past year while I have been in office (as Senator to the College of Business and Management. Being on the Board of Trustees is an opportunity for me to represent our student body on a much larger scale...
I would like to see many things change around UIS next year. One of the most important things I want to change is to get UIS more recognition from our sister schools and receive more money for expansion.
SGA elections will take place online on April 15 and 16.
Senator of College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Jaime Casinova
As a proven leader, student concerns are my foremost concern. I feel confident that I can bring to this office the spirit of positive cooperation that is necessary to accomplish the collective goals of the student body here at UIS. I thank you for this opportunity to represent you, as a representative that will assure that your student government is working for you. As your SGA Senator, together we will help develop an increased sense of campus community, and develop our goal of assuring that ours is a campus where everyone can feel welcomed.
James Anderson
As Senator I would make every effort to stay in tuned to the issues affecting my college and the UIS community as a whole by making myself as available as possible to my constituents, and being receptive to their needs and concerns. We are beleaguered by problems like rising tuition, fees and textbook costs, and if elected I will do what is necessary to make sure students’ voices are heard on these matters. Whether that means putting together statistics, calling administrators, speaking with legislators about college affordability, or lobbying for bills that have the potential to benefit students, I want to help make a difference.
Treasurer
David Ballard
We have seen massive budget cuts, students having a harder time paying bills, and rising unemployment. This is not the time, however, to
cut back on organizations throughout the campus. I will look through every line of the SGA budget to make sure that nothing being spent is
wasteful.
If elected I would work together with the SGA to make sure that this campus is fully represented. I am always open to suggestions and guidance from all the students. I am not running to make my resume look better, but I am running so that all the students on campus have a voice.
Gautham Sista
For the past year, I have been serving as the Senator to Graduate Students. Within this year, I developed a passion to serve the student body at my university. After such an experience, I look forward to doing more for the students on a larger scale. I have also had an exposure to dealing with money in the past and I come to believe that being in charge of finances is a huge responsibility, one which I would take very seriously.
Monique Johnson
Housing and tuition are two of the expenses that many students think about on a daily basis... As treasurer, I will do my best to find ways of keeping these costs down and do the research on why the costs rose in the first place.
I would also make sure that the right amount of money is spent wisely on different organizations and departments. There are many student organizations and departments that do not receive the amount of money necessary to operate functionally.
Secretary
Jeff Long
First and foremost I think that lobbying at the State and Federal level for higher education legislation is one of the best ways that we can see significant changes take place for students. Secondly, I think text books prices in their current state are astronomical... By lobbying our state and federal representatives to support higher education legislation we all as students will benefit. However, I realize a lot of change also starts right here on our own campus which means working with administrators and the UIS bookstore to make sure students are getting affordable text books at reasonable prices.
Also running: Kalpesh Patel for the Senator of the College of Business and Management
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