Pictured Above: Sean Schrader (left) said if he is elected to the Senate, his goal is to ensure the campus has a strong voice in the federal branch. Makenna Caskey said she wants to “make the voices of the student body be heard.” Daniel Lujo, a current Campus Council member, is running for reelection. Yamaris Rodriguez is another Campus Council member running for reelection. Rodriguez is also running for Senate, meaning if she is elected for both positions, she can choose which position she prefers.
Courtesy of Sean Schrader, Makenna Caskey, Daniel Lujo and Yamaris Rodriguez
By Sophie Ojdanic
Voting for the Student Government presidential election, gubernatorial election, and Senate and Campus Council elections runs March 8-11 via the SG website.
The St. Petersburg gubernatorial race will be uncontested this semester, with only Veronica Jimenez and Eran Fruehauf running for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively. Jimenez and Fruehauf only need one vote to win.
The following are the St. Petersburg candidates for Senate and Campus Council:
Sean Schrader
Junior business administration major Sean Schrader is running for the Senate.
In the fall, Schrader served on the system-wide student government advisory board, as a representative of the St. Petersburg campus. He is also a member of the USF Global Citizen Project and Bulls for Brighter Futures.
Schrader said he hopes “to bolster student involvement throughout campus, and ensure that (USF St. Petersburg) has a strong voice in the continued consolidation process.”
Makenna Caskey
Junior political science major Makenna Caskey is running for the Senate.
Caskey, a transfer student, hopes to use a position in SG to “get to know the community and student body … through (representation) and outreach.”
Caskey sees an SG position as an opportunity to develop skills for a future career in foreign affairs.
“Through my own experiences, I believe I can provide valuable input to the senate and help make the voices of the student body be heard,” Caskey said.
Daniel Lujo
Daniel Lujo, a finance sophomore, is a current Campus Council member running for reelection.
Lujo said that the Campus Council has mostly focused on budget allocations thus far.
“I want to run for reelection to the Campus Council committee because I enjoy the experience of learning how the budgeting process at our school works and being able to help the student body in making decisions on how funds should be allocated,” Lujo said. “I am committed to helping the school the best I can through my continued effort on Campus Council.”
Yamaris Rodriguez
Junior transfer student and political science major Yamaris Rodriguez is another current Campus Council representative, and is running for both the Senate and Campus Council.
“I have learned much about our Student Government, the importance of every member, and hope to continue my journey in Student Government,” Rodriguez said. “I am running for the Senate and for Campus Council Representative in St. Petersburg because I have seen in just the semester that I have participated in Student Government the need for more representation from the St. Petersburg campus especially in the Tampa-focused Senate.”
Rodriguez said she would “listen to our students, our organizations and keep them in the forefront when voting and creating legislation.”
Wren Orteneau and Stephane Mathurin, who had filed for positions in the Campus Council and Senate, said they are no longer running.
Whitney O’Keeffe and Ronelia Bailey are also running for both Campus Council and Senate, but did not respond to The Crow’s Nest’s interview requests.
O’Keeffe currently serves as a senator.
Because there are only five Senate candidates and eight Senate seats allocated to the St. Petersburg campus, there will be vacancies.
This will also be the case in the St. Petersburg Campus Council, since there are only four candidates with nine available seats.
If O’Keeffe, Bailey and Rodriguez are elected to both offices, they will be able to choose which position they would like to serve in.
