Pictured Above: Andrea Campos, left, and Isaiah “Zay” Castle were inaugurated as governor and lieutenant governor of the USF St. Petersburg campus for the first consolidated student government term.
Courtesy of Isaiah Castle
By Sophie Ojdanic
Andrea Campos and Isaiah “Zay” Castle were inaugurated as USF St. Petersburg’s first governor and lieutenant governor on May 11 via Microsoft Teams.
The two will represent the St. Petersburg campus in the first term of USF’s consolidated Student Government. Claire Mitchell and Gustavo Spangher will serve as the president and vice president of the first term.
In her remarks, Campos mentioned the importance of continuing the work of her predecessors, Jadzia “Jazzy” Duarte and Hannah Rose Wanless.
The 48th term of USF St. Petersburg’s SG was involved in a number of changes on campus, including backing the introduction of a new housing plan for students of color — the King Suite — as well as helping kick-start laptop loan program for students and an initiative to promote accessibility of menstrual products.
In their campaign, Campos and Castle stressed collaboration over being loud and angry. They promised to work with the rest of student government to make progress on campus. The Campos-Castle campaign was built on diversity, sustainability and student advocacy.
Duarte said she felt privileged to have worked with Campos and Castle for her last term.
“They are going to be spearheading the changes that we’ll see to USF,” Duarte said. “The dedication and passion that these two student leaders have for the students at USFSP is undeniable and I can’t wait to see all that they achieve as a student government team.”
Also offering words of advice and encouragement was Dwayne Isaacs, director of Student Life and Engagement.
“I want you all to continue to shape our university into a place where all of our campus community have a strong sense of belonging,” he said. “That is what makes being a part of the USFSP family so special and what will continue to make our university feel like home for so many.”
Tampa’s director of SG advising, training and operations, Gary Manka, also attended the inauguration, calling it an opportunity for SG to “create something new and different.”
“We are extremely confident that Andrea and Isaiah will do a fantastic job representing the St. Petersburg students and USF as a whole,” Manka said in an email to The Crow’s Nest. “We wish them the best experience possible and are looking forward to working with them next year.”
Campos’ and Castle’s families also attended the inauguration, offering support through their computer screens.
“This is just the first step of your journey,” said Sheila Castle, Isaiah’s mother.
“Helping people has been something that I’ve been wanting to for such a long time, and now that I’m in a position that I can help people in this capacity, I’m just so excited for it,” Castle said. “I can’t wait to work with other people and collaborate with different organizations to push through some of the things we want to do for this year.”
Castle’s ongoing Title IX investigation was not mentioned during the inauguration.
Very expected of SG to not discuss Title IX investigations. I have yet to see Castle be transparent or let the public know details or information about why he is under investigation. I worry for the future of SG if this is how it’ll continue to be. Also “The 48th term of USF St. Petersburg’s SG was involved in a number of changes on campus, including backing the introduction of a new housing plan for students of color — the King Suite“ is correct but somewhat misleading as many senators did not agree with it, mainly passing it out of majority & from an ignorant stance. But still, I hope Castle addresses these allegations soon.
I asked the @usfspsg Instagram page to repost the petition that SASS made for USF to take a stance on the new Title IX changes. I was subsequently placed in a group chat with Andrea, Zay, and Jazzy with them explaining that they didn’t want to repost it. They gave reasons like they don’t want to be “partisan” (sexual assault is seriously not a partisan issue), that SG took a stance on this in the 47th term and “there’s all new people now” (do I really have to explain to Jazzy how government works, the civil rights act passed in the 60s and there’s all new people now, but yes it’s still valid), and that “SG shouldn’t be talking about this” (a law that affects students, really?). Then, Jazzy left the conversation. It’s really weird that they didn’t want to repost the petition, but it’s even weirder given that Zay is under Title IX investigation and they don’t wanna repost it. Be transparent!