It’s election season at the University of Texas at Austin. This week, UT students will not only be voting in the Republican and Democratic primaries for federal, state, and local offices, but also casting ballots for student government positions on campus. Students from across campus are running to represent their school (College of Liberal Arts, College of Natural Sciences, etc.) in the Assembly, as well as running to fill positions such as The Daily Texan Editor in Chief, Texas Student Media Board of Directors, University Co-Op Board of Directors, University Unions Board of Directors, and Campus E+E President will also be up for election.
Most importantly, 7 Student Government Executive Alliances are running to be the next Student Government President and Vice President of the University of Texas. The candidates include:
Armando Parrish & Ben Guerreiro
Armando, a finance junior, and Ben, a finance sophomore, got the Arch Manning endorsement this election cycle and are running to make UT a more integrated community. Their campaign stresses the importance of making student voices heard on campus by promoting open forums where students can share their opinions. The pair also seeks to spread more awareness about the mental health and career resources available to students on campus.
Cate Kratovil & Bailey Inglish
Cate and Bailey are both Juniors in Plan II; Cate also studies Government, and Bailey also studies Statistics & Data Science. The pair has released an extensive policy platform with 36 policy proposals covering issues such as registration, expanding late-night food options around campus, and making the Tower library open 24/7.
Jaylen is a Junior studying advertising, and Nina is a junior studying political communication & informatics. Their policy platform mainly focuses on student government reform through building more bureaucratic initiatives to enhance the effectiveness of the student government. Their platform also focuses on strengthening campus traditions to build a stronger sense of identity among the student body.
Kiera and Jaden are both juniors in the Liberal Arts Honors Program pursuing majors in Government. Their policy platform is divided into six pillars, which focus on increasing food accessibility, student government reform, housing transparency, and expanded student org resources, among others.
Camile and Connor are both writers for the Texas Travesty, UT’s satirical journal that focuses on humor. Camile & Connor’s campaign has been a reflection of their participation in the Travesty, with their slogan switching the popular political phrase “people over politics” to “politics over people”. This alliance seems to be the more serious ticket, with Camille & Connor using satire and humor to criticize the university over the handling of various issues.
Kelsey and Nicholas are both Juniors studying Government. Their policy platform stresses three main themes: accessibility, action, and accountability. Similar to Kiera and Jaden, Kelsey and Nicholas emphasize policies that promote housing affordability and increase food access for students.
Sarah Sheriff and Siyona Nayampally
Sarah is a third-year student and has previously served in Student Government as both a University-Wide Representative and Representative from the College of Natural Sciences. Siyona is also a third-year student studying Plan II and Economics. Their policy platform emphasizes making UT more inclusive, as shown by their campaign slogan “Y’all mean all.”
This year’s elections come at a contentious time for UT politically. Since the appointment of Jim Davis as President of the University last year, his administration has been criticized by many on the left as catering more towards conservative policies. Whoever is elected to serve as student government President and Vice President will have the maturity and savvy to collaborate with a university administration that is often scrutinized by the largely diverse, liberal student body as too right-wing.
