Election packets have been submitted and ]Student Government Association (SGA) begins the process of appointing a new President and Vice President for the 2018-2019 school year.

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SGA “is the governing body of The Behrend College student population. We shall strive to give voice to the student body on opinions of academic and co-curricular affairs; to support such academic and co-curricular activities that contribute to the enhancement of the social and intellectual life of students; to represent the interests of the student body to the administration, faculty and staff; and to support the rights of students in all matters,” as posted on the SGA BehrendSync page.

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The current President and Vice president are Moustafa Elhadary and Megan Stetz who will be replaced by one of two teams running in the election.

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One team consists of John Jarecki and Andrew Sanford. Together they have one goal, “to put the SGA back to work for you, the students,” says Jarecki in an Instagram promotional video.

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Jarecki had always hoped to attend, and graduate, from Behrend ever since he first visited the campus during a tour when he was in high school. “However, like any campus, we have our problems,” Jareckie stated. Commuters represent just over half the student body, and Jarecki feels Behrend makes very little effort to keep them involved in the events on campus. He plans to work with clubs including Lion Entertainment Board (LEB) in order to promote more inclusive events. He would also like to work with the administration to lower meal, parking and housing costs for students. “Finally, and most importantly, Behrend's current ‘Blue Light’ system is falling to pieces. If we are going to be a campus that actively fights sexual and physical assault, these safety resources need to be in working order,” says Jarecki. “Overall, I'm asking for the opportunity to really serve the students of Behrend. If elected, we will put in the work to make our campus a truly great place to learn, grow, and create lasting friendships.”

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The other team consists of Samantha and Alexandra Oliver. Samantha has been a member of SGA for the last two years and says she has loved every second of it. “Alex and I are running for SGA office because we want to be able to make a difference on this campus,” began Samantha. “I do not consider myself a politician in any way, but I love helping people.” Their main goal has been to help improve academic and advising related issues between students and faculty on campus. As a pair, they believe they have a good understanding of the organizational work as a whole because of how involved they have been in recent years. “I want to be able to take what I know to help facilitate the work of the organization next year,” Samantha stated.

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“I did not choose to run with her [Alexandra] because she is my sister. I chose to run alongside Alex because she is a hard working individual and I feel like she can make a difference on this campus,” says Samantha. Alexandra stated she decided to run for Vice President because she feels she has the ability to help the students make their voices heard. Her main goal is to make sure that SGA is doing everything it can to make Behrend better for the students.

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“We have many things that we would like to see improve on campus if we are given the ability to be SGA President and Vice President for the 2018-2019 school year. We really want to focus on the students and make sure to highlight the hard work that they do. We want to find a way to highlight the work of different clubs and organizations on campus as well as the work of the SGA. We also want to encourage more relations between international and domestic students on campus,” says Samantha. Furthermore, the pair would like to work with staff to improve lounges on campus for commuter students, work towards getting the E bus to run longer, continue the work that has been done with advising through the academic affairs committee and promote the importance of involvement to students.

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Students who wish to learn more about the organization or the students running for office are encouraged to contact current members via BehrendSync or email, or by attending a meeting, held every Thursday at 6 p.m. in Reed 114.