By Kalilu Jawara

The University of Maryland Student Government Association faced an unprecedented situation following last semester’s election. The joint disqualification of competing tickets RollTerps and JusticeUMD left most seats vacant and a much smaller SGA Continuity Committee in charge of operations.

To fill the vacant seats, students will vote this week in a special election as the organization seeks to rebound from last semester.

“Obviously a very surreal experience to have to manage an organization that usually has close to a hundred people with only about 20,” Head Elections Commissioner Leonard Fomin said. “Very difficult, in being accountable to everything that students need.”

Candidates across both disqualified tickets are ineligible to run. There are six new tickets: TransformUMD, VoiceForAll, ReviveUMD, Beyond The Shell, People Not Politics and The Vanguard Initiative. 

46 seats are currently vacant between the executive and legislative branches, including the Student Body President and Executive Vice President.

Each ticket takes similar stances on most issues and promotes similar ideas: a focus on affordability, support for divestment and a call for the university to declare itself a sanctuary campus for undocumented immigrants.

A desire to restore the student body’s faith in the SGA is a top priority for each ticket.

“I was kind of concerned about the SGA’s ability to maintain its own status as an organization of outreach, of advocacy, of meaning,” ReviveUMD SBP Candidate Avi Polirer said of the prior election. “At this point in the SGA’s history, it’s time for us to really earn trust back.” 

“The biggest misstep you can ever have as a government is not being representative of the people,” said VoiceForAll SBP Candidate Sulayman Khan. “Bridging that gap between the student government leadership and the student body themselves is extremely important to make sure that clear communication is happening.”

The specter of last semester’s tension looms large. The conclusion to last year’s election hasn’t been viewed as an aberration, but indicative of the organization’s struggles in recent years.

“It’s not even just a matter of last year,” said Lynelle Essilfie, ticket chair for TransformUMD. “There’s been issues with elections all four years that I’ve been on campus.”

Polirer elaborated on ReviveUMD’s approach to making UMD more affordable, advocating for the university to join other Big 10 schools in freezing tuition and making opportunities such as scholarships and internships more accessible. He said his ticket’s experience with the university’s administration can help in implementing these changes.

“I think a big part of [advancing our goals] is maintaining a nonadversarial relationship with admin,” said Polirer. “It’s fine to disagree, and we’re going to disagree inevitably. I think that it’s also important to maintain a communication style that actually allows for change to happen.”

Essilfie highlighted her group’s diversity, fronted by SBP candidate Alvaro Ceron-Ruiz. The ticket lists protecting student rights and promoting diversity, equity and inclusion as some of its major tenets.

“Our legislators and executive team want to see changes in the way SGA is communicating with the student body,” Essilfie said. “Making sure we’re pushing issues such as student rights, student funding, things that students care about in a way that resonates with their message.”

Khan hopes to repair SGA’s relationship with the student body, focusing on strengthening its engagement with the community. 

“The first thing SGA should be doing is doing things that are involved with community service on this campus,” he said. “The point of SGA is to represent the community. You can say you’re representing the community. You need to show it.”

Voting for the election opened Oct. 1, and will run until 5 p.m. Oct. 6. Students can vote online at https://www.umdsga.com/elections.

The winners will be inaugurated on Oct. 19. 

“I’m hopeful that they’re ready to put in the work, ready to learn a lot about the organization,” said Fomin. “From some of the platforms I’ve seen from individual candidates and tickets, there’s a lot of exciting things on the way.”

The Vanguard Initiative, People Not Politics and Beyond The Shell could not be reached for comment on this story.

Featured Image: The Student Government Association office in the Adele H. Stamp Student Union. Photo by Anika Stikeleather.