Leadership Positions:
E.J. Hannah and Jason Buckman
Hannah is a sophomore who works as an on-campus RA in Castle Point Hall and as an Academic Support Center peer tutor, serves as the Treasurer for the Stevens Climbing Team, the Secretary for the Middle Eastern Student Association (MESA), a “DAL PAL,” and is a member of the workshop and training committee for the Stevens 150 for 150 service initiative. Hannah is also currently a new member of Lodge.
Buckman is a sophomore who is the President of Hillel, Historian for the Stevens Health Professionals Club, and currently works as an Academic Support Center peer tutor. Buckman is currently a new member of Alpha Phi Omega.
Brandon Seidman and Simon Pepa
Seidman runs the social media for Off Center. Pepa is the Secretary of Off Center and is the Editor-in-Chief of “Off The Press.”
Samanta Molla and Adrian Castellanos
Molla is the House Manager for Sigma Delta Tau and is a Peer Leader.
Castellanos is the Secretary for Torch, a Peer Leader, and is a member of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and Out in Science and Engineering (oSTEM).
Measured SGA Accomplishments:
This section covers concrete actions accomplished by the candidates during their time serving within the Student Government Association (SGA) as well as their most recent initiative.
E.J. Hannah and Jason Buckman
Hannah joined the SGA during the fall of his freshman year. In Fall 2018, he coordinated the creation of the Women’s Fitness Initiative with Campus Recreation to reserve solo gym time for women. In the Spring 2019, he was appointed as Chair of the Campus Life Committee (CLC) where he coordinated the purchase of benches for Babbio Patio and helped organize “Destress Fest” to help students relax prior to finals. This semester, he is coordinating the creation of a campus garden and helped lead the SGA’s Week of Kindness. Currently, he is working on finalizing the details of a campus artwork proposal.
Buckman joined the SGA during the fall of his freshman year. He promoted the creation of undergraduate TAs and a course restructure for BIO 281, which will be implemented next semester. Buckman also worked with the newly created SES Advising Center to help them become acquainted with the Stevens student body. At the end of the Fall 2018 semester, he was appointed Chair of ad-hoc Housing Committee, where he revamped the Stevens website and resources for students who wish to live off campus. Currently, he is working on a large health fair.
Brandon Seidman and Simon Pepa
Seidman and Pepa have not served in the Student Government Association.
Samanta Molla and Adrian Castellanos
Molla joined the SGA in the fall of her freshman year. This semester, Molla was appointed Chair of the Government and Community Relations Committee. She also coordinated a voting drive earlier this month on October 9 where 54 individuals registered to vote. Currently, she is working on making Election Day a holiday for students.
Castellanos joined the SGA this semester and has been appointed Chair of the Rules Committee. Last semester, he served as the accessibility advocate for the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. This semester, he is the sexuality advocate for the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Currently, he is leading discussions on the proposed constitution rewrite.
Why do you want to run for SGA President and VPO?
E.J. Hannah and Jason Buckman
“Originally, it was a joke we had last year in our room,” said Hannah. (Buckman and Hannah were roommates last year.) However, these conversations became more serious, resulting in them officially deciding to run together.
From when he initially decided to run for senate, Hannah was inspired by current leaders working together to better the student experience. His ideal vision for the SGA is a community of leaders working together. Over the past year, he has seen that ideal deteriorate with more bickering within the senate, a sharp decrease of senators, as well as current senators losing their passion. According to Hannah, he is the “best possible option” to inspire leaders — similar to how past SGA President Lucas Gallo inspired him. “I want to kickstart this organization which did so much for me,” said Hannah. He feels with the direction the SGA is going, it will not be impactful for much longer. “I want to make the voices of the students be heard,” added Hannah.
Buckman’s inspiration was similar. He joined the Senate to spark change on campus. He wants to spread that vision and inspire people to make positive change across campus instead of simply complaining about problems — and realizing the SGA can help solve their problems.
Brandon Seidman and Simon Pepa
Seidman and Pepa believe they are absolutely “the best” and that no one in the school could beat them. According to them, they are the most competent, handsome, charismatic, humble, and best leaders.
Samanta Molla and Adrian Castellanos
Originally, Molla and Castellanos both were thinking of running for President and Vice President of Operations next year. However, they realized there was nothing stopping them from running this year. They decided to run together after they both worked as peer leaders and realized that they shared a lot of the same values. At first, running was a joke, but then they decided to take it more seriously after more individuals encouraged them to run.
Molla wants to see greater change on campus and feels that the cabinet will give her better access to the administration. As Government and Community Relations Chair, she cites her new connection with Beth McGrath, Vice President for Government and Community Relations, as an example of one of the new connections. Working with administration gives greater power for what students can accomplish.
Castellanos has only been a senator for one semester, but after becoming a peer leader and talking with other students, Castellanos developed the mentality of “why not” try to make a change now.
Describe how you will select your cabinet.
E.J. Hannah and Jason Buckman
Due to the potential constitution rewrite with its cabinet changes, as well as listening to what students want, Hannah and Buckman have not put a lot of thought into their selections for their cabinet. However, they don’t believe they will have a problem finding individuals who are interested in serving on their cabinet. They plan to host a “non-biased interview process” open to everyone. Buckman and Hannah did not provide concrete examples aside from including other individuals — not just themselves — in the interview process. “Picking our cabinet is not a top priority of this campaign,” said Hannah.
They are not worried about cabinet selection being left to last minute if the constitution rewrite fails. After the votes are tallied, they will take a look at who might be good to serve on the cabinet and reach out to them — as well as opening it up to the entire student body.
“We want to make sure that the people [selected for cabinet] are willing to put in the effort,” said Buckman. Specifically, they are looking for individuals who are willing to put every ounce of energy towards their role. A strong component for selection is the relevant experience for the role.
Brandon Seidman and Simon Pepa
Seidman and Pepa want to abolish some cabinet positions and add new ones. For example, they want to add a secretary of defense, agriculture, interior, and education.
Samanta Molla and Adrian Castellanos
Molla and Castellanos aren’t looking at anyone in particular but want to bring in people outside of the SGA to provide a “diverse standpoint.” They want to keep a balance of individuals of different genders, majors, and organizations, for example. Specifically, Molla cites potentially bringing CAL students onto their cabinet as they are “super unrepresented” and need improvements.
They do not have specific people but are looking for involved, passionate people who have a great work ethic who have a goal of what they want to accomplish. Additionally, potential candidates need to be aware of the time commitment required.
The cabinet gives senators opportunities to pursue different initiatives from complaints from students.
What is the role of president and VPO?
E.J. Hannah and Jason Buckman
“The president is supposed to be the leader who acts as an inspiration for change and encourages other people to get involved as well,” said Hannah.
“[The] VPO works very closely with the president and with everyone else to provide support to complete all initiatives. It’s also to pursue their own and making sure that the Senate experience is that of a family feel. There’s a community there and everything is working towards it,” said Buckman.
Brandon Seidman and Simon Pepa
The role of the President is to commit all the virtues. The role of the Vice President of Operations is to perform all of the vices listed in the seven deadly sins.
Samanta Molla and Adrian Castellanos
“The President should be the delegator and the person you can look to as a role model of what the SGA should be,” said Molla, “and being the point person, I don’t necessarily think the president should be the one doing all of the work. I think that we have Senators because we have super passionate people that want to make a change. It’s kind of guiding them, helping them, supporting everyone whether we identify it or not.” The President should still pursue their own initiatives.
“For VPO, a large part of it is empowering Senators, and being that point of contact for them,” said Castellanos, “The main job of the VPO is to empower Senators to not be afraid to pursue their initiatives as well as when we need to rally around something that something I would be doing.”
The President works externally, and the VPO works internally with all the senators and organizations.
What do you want to accomplish in the first month?
E.J. and Jason Buckman
“Without a doubt, my primary focus for the first 30 days is all internal changes,” said Hannah. He wants to see the senate revitalized and restructured to create a sense of family. “Everything we accomplish stems from that,” said Hannah. The Senate needs to appreciate and acknowledge the accomplishments of each other.
They plan to accomplish this by selecting a cabinet people who may give off an open, family vibe, having more bonding activities within the senate, and subtle meeting changes where people sit closer together at Senate meetings
Brandon Seidman and Simon Pepa
Seidman and Pepa want to throw the “biggest party” featuring Attila the Duck with Drake as the opening act.
Samanta Molla and Adrian Castellanos
By the end of the first month, they believe they will have come to a resolution on smoking on campus — whether that means a proclamation or hosting events ourselves. They feel that they would be able to handle it “really quickly” even though previous senator Melanie Caba tried for multiple years to promote a smoke free-campus and failed; however, now the Wellness Educator, Gabby Guider, wants to see it happen. Molla and Castellanos do not understand why the current policy of no smoking within 25 feet of the entrance of buildings is not enforced right now by Campus Police.
Additionally, they want to expand the ability for students to pursue research opportunities on campus as well as creating a program similar to ACES for Women in STEM aimed for women in high school.
What is the lasting impact you wish to have?
E.J. and Jason Buckman
Hannah and Buckman want to start conversations regarding the changing campus culture within the SGA, Stevens, and the community. They want to make the school more of a tight-knit community — especially with sophomores who live off campus.
Brandon Seidman and Simon Pepa
As a lasting impact, Seidman and Pepa want all of the buildings on campus torn down and rebuilt during their term.
Samanta Molla and Adrian Castellanos
They want to leave the role knowing that they did everything they possibly could. “As as you try, you know,” said Molla. Even if you try and make a mistake, Molla remarks that it’s okay as they know not to make that mistake again.
On a more concrete note, Castellanos would like to see more students getting involved within the SGA and be able to empower people to pursue their passions.
What is your relationship with administrators?
E.J. Hannah and Jason Buckman
“Pretty damn good,” said Hannah. They have met with multiple members of the administration, have open communication, and meet consistently with them. Administrators are key to accomplishing the SGA’s initiatives. They have not had any problems getting what the students want to see. “It’s important to have conversations with administrators to hear their point of view as well because they’re not only worried about the students, they’re worried about the faculty and campus as well.
Brandon Seidman and Simon Pepa.
According to them, “Admins love us.” They have an especially good relationship with Professor Jon Goodguy.
Samanta Molla and Adrian Castellanos
“Definitely very positive,” said Molla. She feels they are very willing to speak to students and accommodate students. Additionally, there will be a need to compromise on both ends as administrators do not understand the student aspect, but also students do not understand the process for administrators.
How will you improve the negative perception of the SGA?
E.J. Hannah and Jason Buckman
They state that they can’t eradicate the negative perception of SGA. However, in order to improve it, the SGA should focus on smaller culture shifts to improve their image on campus. The SGA should have its name on more things across campus that they are responsible for as well as hosting more events with other organizations. For example, potential CLC outdoor lawn equipment should have SGA-branding on it. Individuals need to recognize that the SGA is not just a budgeting organization. The SGA needs to “get out of [their] bubble.”
Brandon Seidman and Simon Pepa
Seidman and Pepa believe that no one dislikes them, so the SGA will naturally have a better perception because they are a part of it.
Samanta Molla and Adrian Castellanos
Molla and Castellanos believe a large part of the negative perception of the SGA is the visibility problem the Stevens SGA has compared to other student governments, and believe this will be partially solved once the website is up and running. Telling people and getting individuals outside the SGA involved is essential.
Is Stevens student-centric?
E.J. Hannah and Jason Buckman
“I wouldn’t say it’s not student-centric. It is definitely working towards becoming more student-centric, but we do need to have that transition,” said Hannah.
“They try to be,” said Buckman.
Brandon Seidman and Simon Pepa
“Absolutely not,” said Seidman. The ratio of administrators to students is infinite.
Samanta Molla and Adrian Castellanos
“It’s really hard now seeing that we need to put in a lot more effort to get what we want, but I feel like we shouldn’t just be doing it for us, we should be doing it for everybody else following us. I think that as leaders we shouldn’t just have our own interests dictate what we do but the interests of everybody, and I think that the interests of incoming students would be a place where they’re comfortable and know that their opinions and their values are reflected in their University,” said Molla.
“I feel like this has always been since I got here. Stevens is not necessarily a blank campus, but we have so much room for improvement when it comes to being student-centric that it’s almost a blessing because the people now and the people for the next few years will get to mold what campus is for a very very long time, so like maybe we aren’t the best at everything but like the fact that we all know that we aren’t the best at everything allows us to have these conversations and allows us to improve not just for us but for the future,” said Castellanos.
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