The race for the Student Government Association (SGA) presidency has officially begun with nominations for the 2025-2026 SGA Presidential Election opening on Wednesday, November 6 and set to close on Tuesday, November 12. It’s important to note that nominations are not the same as votes; rather, they allow candidates to continue to the election period and secure a spot on the ballot.
Currently nominations are being collected in person on paper, where students are asked to provide their full name, CWID, Stevens email, and signature. Candidates are required to get signatures from at least 5% of the undergraduate student body. With an estimated student population of 4,200, this means each candidate needs roughly 210 signatures to officially run.
In SGA presidential elections, candidates run as pairs, consisting of a presidential candidate and a Vice President of Operations (VPO) candidate. The winning pair will appoint a full cabinet which includes the Vice President of Finance (VPF), Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA), Vice President of Student Interests (VPSI), Secretary, and potentially other positions depending on the administration.
Since the form closed on Tuesday, November 5, four pairs have submitted their intent to run, and assuming they collect enough signatures, these four pairs will appear on the ballot. Alexander Stanczak and Shane Mitchel began their campaign on October 29 under the Instagram handle @votealexandshane. Kevin Pfundstein and Tanya Avadia launched their campaign on October 31 using @kevinandtanya4sga. Angelo Naro and Mollie Good kicked off their campaign on October 29 with @vote.angeloandmollie4sga. Finally, Arthur Serra and Sebastian Sztolberg started their campaign on November 5 using the handle @art.sebby.pfinance.
If even two of these candidates manage to collect enough signatures, this will mark the first contested SGA presidential election since 2019. In the past five years, the SGA election has been uncontested. In the last election in 2023, Nicholas Smith and Olof Persson ran unopposed. The same occurred in 2022 with Paulina Georgoutsos and Alexander Stanczak, in 2021 with Gabriella Poska and Paulina Georgoutsos, and in 2020 with Liana Meyer and Julieann Murphy. However, the 2019 election was contested, with a race between Samatha Molla and Adrian Castellanos, E.J. Hannah and Jason Buckman, and Brandon Seidman and Simon Pepa. After Molla and Castellanos won and later resigned, E.J. Hannah and Emily Ng took over.
The next steps in this election process includes a “Meet the Candidates” event on Thursday, November 14 in the UCC from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. The candidates will also participate in a debate immediately after in TechFlex from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., where they will have the opportunity to share their platforms and potentially answer student questions. If you’re wondering who will be moderating the debate, it will not be The Stute (although we will be covering it!). It’s expected that the current SGA president and VPO, Nicholas Smith and Olof Persson, will moderate the debate.
The election timeline starts with the nomination period closing on November 12, followed by the election period from November 17 to 23, where the winning pair will be chosen by majority vote. The newly elected SGA president, VPO, and their cabinet will be inaugurated on January 17, 2025. Make sure you’re ready to vote for the next SGA leadership, and don’t miss the chance to hear directly from the candidates during the upcoming events.
Updated: November 11, 2024
Courtesy of @vote.angeloandmollie4sga on Instagram
Courtesy of @votealexandshane on Instagram
Courtesy of @art.sebby.pfinance on Instagram
Courtesy of @kevinandtanya4sga on Instagram
