SGA Elections for Class Senators, Class of 2025 President Finalized; 5 Total Vacancies

Tia Wurzrainer ’24

Contributing Writer

The Student Government Association (SGA) election results  for 2021-2022 are in, but with several vacancies for both the class of 2022 and 2023. The results were announced by the SGA in full on Wednesday, Sept. 22. 

Fadhil Ahmed ’25 was elected the Class of 2025 President. When asked about goals for the academic year he stated that he would like to “build a sense of responsibility and accountability between and towards one another…People need to feel that they have the power to change things to make them more proactive than reactive.” Ahmed would also like to foster a community that builds “a culture of care” as a “first step of a long-term community-building framework.” 

The Senators for the class of 2025 are, Ava Alioto ’25, Momo Djebli ’25, James Maciel ’25, and Sydney Yu ’25. Djebli stated that they would like to focus on, “integrating gender-neutral bathrooms within Trinity buildings, with the focus on the dormitory buildings. I want to make sure that non-binary and genderqueer folk feel safe in the dorms; a big part of that is eliminating gendered spaces within the co-ed floors.” Senator Maciel’s goal is to prioritize the wants and needs of the student body, to have “a perceptible shift in the campus community and school spirit,” and to increase student involvement both on- and off-campus, highlighting Trinity’s history of distancing itself from Hartford. Yu stated that she would like to see an improvement in dormitory management, a reduction in the amount of “disposable tableware” at Mather, and a more concise payment system for Bantam Bucks and Dining Dollars. 

The class of 2024 Senators are Tony Ortega ’24, Gabi Seguinot ’24, Ayouba Swaray ’24, and Daniel White ’24. When asked about his policy plans and goals, Ortega stated that he wants to unite the class of 2024 after a COVID-altered first year, and focus “more funding for cultural organizations” which will create a shared learning “about different types of cultures and make it feel like home for POC.” Fellow sophomore Swaray’s main goal “lies in bringing the campus together and making Trinity students feel like they belong here, even if the school wasn’t structured for people like them. It’s time for Trinity to start heading into a more progressive direction in respects to what ‘Makes a Bantam.’” Swaray would also like to facilitate “building better bonds within dorms so that more unconventional friendships are made and the divide is closed,” as well as “curating events that cross social lines on campus so that the social scene on campus isn’t so segregated.”  

Only two Senate positions for the class of 2023 were filled. The senators are Charlotte Bond ’23, Reagan Flynn ’23, and Alison Rau ’23. Rau and Flynn will be splitting semesters as senator with the former serving for the fall semester and the latter serving for the spring semester. Bond is “passionate about enforcing the ideals of justice within our community,” emphasizing her believe on how vaguely justice is discussed by administration and students. She would like to address the “never-ending cycle of injustice.” She emphasized the importance of “The ones involved who can’t forget [and] haven’t forgotten. And I think it’s time to start making our campus – our home away from home – a place where people can understand why something is wrong, and why it should never happen.” Rau hopes to make the Class of 2023 feel welcome and comfortable, and “to improve variety and nutrition in dining options for students on campus.” 

Finally, there remain three vacant Senate seats for the class of 2022. Alexis Porto ’22 is the lone Senator for the class. She explained that she would like to build a strong relationship between SGA and the student body to incite active changes. Further, she would like “to help improve the student body’s resources and agency.” “I would like for every student to feel heard, well represented, safe, and comfortable on campus,” she continued. 

Though the winners of the 2021-2022 SGA election have been finalized, there are several vacant senator positions: two for the class of 2023 and three for the class of 2022. In a statement to the Tripod, SGA President Jederick Estrella ’22 emphasized the importance of filling those vacancies. “As a student who goes to Trinity I can resonate with the feelings of loneliness and the lack of community we have as a campus. I also resonate a little harder with the first-gen, low-income, Gay Black experience that I deal with everyday going to a predominately white, higher-income school. I say this not to lament on my difference, but to point out how daunting it is to try to build something from the ground up.”  

Estrella continued, “This school is a reflection of the society we inhabit, and we aren’t all going to see eye to eye, but the least we can do is to give the effort to TRY! We as Students are 1/3 of the governing power of this campus; Us, Administration, and Trustees.” Lamenting students’ general apathy, he continued, “Our lack of advocacy for the things we want and require as students is being sidelined by our own refusal to partake in our campus community. It’s easy to point fingers at the structures that be, but if you aren’t agitating said structures to move in the ways you want them to, we will continue to feed our cyclical unhappiness as a student body. So become a senator and represent the wants of not only your class but your larger community! If you can’t put in those hours, at least come by to our student-wide meetings in McCook Auditorium Sundays, 7:00PM – 8:30PM and speak up for the things that need change on our campus!” 

A Vacant Position Election for the classes of 2022 and 2023 will be held on Monday, Oct. 4. Candidate forms must be submitted by Thursday, Sept. 30 at 11:59 pm.