By Jennifer Baxter

Read about the student response of a vigil bringing attention to the violence in Sudan, the distribution of 175 SmarTrip cards through SGA and the 2026 SGA election disqualifications in this week’s newsletter.

JusticeUMD, RollTerps tickets disqualified from 2026 UMD SGA Elections, leaving uncertainty

By Elizabeth Faragi

The University of Maryland’s Student Government Association Elections Commission disqualified both the RollTerps and JusticeUMD tickets, the only tickets this year, from the 2026 SGA elections. 

This is the second consecutive year that SGA election results have been postponed due to election violations. 

JusticeUMD was convicted of “campaigning prior to the official start of campaigning” on Tuesday, according to commission records, which is a Class B violation and a 90-point penalty. Sanctions range from 50-99 and Class B violations are the second most severe. 

Previously this semester, the commission convicted JusticeUMD of “campaigning prior to the official start of campaigning,” a Class B violation, as well as “campaigning in bad faith,” a Class D violation, on March 11 and March 30, respectively. These violations hold a 60 and 15-point penalty, respectively. 

JusticeUMD was disqualified due to the total violation point penalties exceeding the 100-point limit. 

Peyton Steinberg, the RollTerps presidential candidate and a junior government and politics major, said he felt the decision was reasonable.  

“I feel like it’s justified,” Steinberg said.

JusticeUMD presidential candidate Amira Abujuma and vice president candidate Nick Dispirito did not respond to a request for comment.

The commission also disqualified the RollTerps ticket from the elections on April 7, for “ticket collusion done in bad faith.” 

Leonard Fomin, the head elections commissioner, said the Elections Commission defines this as “a deliberate unlawful action by a ticket, individual candidate, or ticket(s) to collaborate/conspire with another ticket, individual candidate(s), or ticket(s) to subvert the Elections Rules or Regulations.”  

This is a Class A violation, which is a 100-point penalty that authorizes disqualification. 

The board upheld its decision to disqualify the tickets despite both tickets appealing to the SGA governance board. It is unknown how SGA will decide to proceed, as there are no other presidential or vice presidential candidates. 

Read more here.

SGA distributes 175 SmarTrip cards to undergraduate students

By Abigail Bender

The University of Maryland Student Government Association has launched a MetroCard program to distribute preloaded SmarTrip cards to 175 undergraduate students in order to help alleviate high transportation costs.

SmarTrip cards are used to pay fares on Metrorail and Metrobus, and to park at facilities that are Metro-operated, according to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA).

An application form for the cards was created on March 23, for students who may benefit from this program, including commuters and low-income students. Through SGA and sustainability grants, $13,475 was allocated for the initiative with each SmarTrip card preloaded with $75, said Shubh Agnihotri, SGA transportation and infrastructure co-director. 

“We reached the maximum number of applicants last week,” Agnihotri said.

In order to improve the maintenance of campus facilities and transportation resources

SGA’s transportation and infrastructure committee communicates with UMD’s Department of Transportation Services, Division of Information Technology and Student Facilities Fund, according to SGA’s committees page. 

This initiative was a more “near-term actionable” approach, said Agnihotri. Schools such as George Washington University provide students with unlimited Metro rides at a discounted price, included in their tuition, through the WMATA’s U-Pass program. However, UMD’s DOTS has been hesitant to implement it because if students did not use it frequently and couldn’t opt out, they would be charged unnecessarily high fees.

Funding for the cards passed in the first week of February. SGA received the cards last week and almost every student who applied for a card will receive one, said Agnihotri.

The cards were distributed at the Student Organization Resource Center in Stamp Student Union, and any undergraduate applicant was approved as long as they confirmed why receiving a card would benefit them academically, professionally or socially, which promotes SGA’s commitment to transit equity. 

Michelle Franco Morales, a senior nursing student, commutes to UMD’s campus. Despite not applying for a card herself, she said that this initiative will help commuters who struggle to access reliable transportation options.

“It can make it easier for students from different economic backgrounds to get to campus, attend classes, and participate in campus opportunities without transportation being a limitation,” Morales said.

A WMATA service, such as the Metrobus, costs $2.25 with a regular fare, according to WMATA.

“Transportation costs can add up quickly, especially now that gas prices are going up,” Morales said. 

Maryland students will gain more access to public transportation following the completion of the Purple Line in the winter of 2027, according to USAToday. However, SGA’s transportation and infrastructure committee’s SmarTrip card provides applicants with immediate access. 

Read more here.

UMD Sudanese Student Organization vigil brings awareness, solidarity amid ongoing violence in Sudan

By Stella Henretta  

The University of Maryland’s Sudanese Student Organization held a vigil on Wednesday, honoring Sudanese individuals the war in Sudan affected.

The vigil commemorated the ongoing conflict, which began on April 15, 2023, when the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces each sought political control over Sudan.

The nation is still feeling its effects of violence years later. 

Matthew De Leon, a freshman information science major, attended the vigil to show his solidarity with the Sudanese people. De Leon said Sudan is suffering through a genocide that has been treated as background noise by the media. 

“What I hope for this vigil is that it brings more awareness to the genocide in Sudan … and that we make it a national issue that doesn’t just go away after a blip; we want it to be [sustained], we want it to be up on the news,” De Leon said.

De Leon believes that the United States carries partial responsibility to stop the harm that is being perpetrated against the Sudanese people.

“I’ve always lived by the value that nobody’s free until everybody’s free,” De Leon said. “Even if the United States had everything, and had enough resources to take care of its people, we would still not be free because the Sudanese people are going through oppression.”

Awad Abdallah, a junior public health science major and founder of SSO, expressed that the general public lacks information because of the media’s neglect on the topic. The North African nation remains involved in a major international humanitarian crises, yet news outlets across the world have failed to accurately depict the genocide’s severity.

“With Sudan, I feel like not as many people are speaking out on it,” Abdallah, SSO’s former president, said. “I feel like people can see [the vigil] and learn about what’s going on in Sudan, and just be aware of what’s going on all around.”  

Demonstrators at the event hoped that the vigil would bring awareness to the extent to which Sudanese people are suffering, according to Malak Fadlalla, a freshman public health science major and SSO public relations officer.

Fadlalla believes it is important to talk about situations occurring around the world, as knowing one’s history is vital and can impact the future. 

The vigil was a reminder that the people affected by the war are also human beings, said Akunna Okonkwo, a junior public health science major. 

“I feel like we’re so out of touch when it comes to politics and policy. We’re all focused on statistics, but we forget that we’re all people at the end of the day,” Okonkwo said. 

She said being around people the war in Sudan affected has shown her that its victims are living people with real faces.

Read more here.

Featured Image: A speaker at UMD’s Sudanese Student Organization’s vigil at Hornbake Plaza on April 15. Photo by Stella Henretta.