By Aubrey Carr
Candidates for Student Government’s (SG) 2023 presidential election discussed their plans to improve student experience at the third presidential debate since consolidation.
The four presidential tickets included juniors Cesar Esmeraldi and Elizabeth Volmy, seniors Nathan Poinsette and Taeler Bell, juniors Sebastian Solano and Jessica Malanga and freshmen Manik Jindal and Shubhankar Parashar.
On Feb. 27 students gathered on Tampa Campus to witness the debate, hosted by SG Supervisor of Elections Laura Shaw and moderated by Clinton Engelberger, Editor in Chief of The Oracle.
After three-minute introductions by each ticket, the presidential and vice-presidential candidates were asked a series of questions submitted by The Crow’s Nest, The Oracle, and SG. Questions ranged from the candidates’ own past experiences with plans to incorporate diversity initiatives on campuses.
A majority of the tickets have held or currently hold positions in SG, with only Jindal and Parashar’s campaign marked as complete newcomers to the organization. Solano is also a newcomer to the field, but running mate Malanga currently holds a senator title within SG.
While Solano has no direct experience with SG, he cited his work in Greek Life, as well as within USF Ambassadors as an asset to the presidential role. “I think that helps me a lot, seeing how different organizations can collaborate and work together, which is one thing that I think, as a part of our platform, that we really fixated upon,” he said.
Jindal and Parashar both accredited their inexperience to their standing as underclassmen, with Jindal stating that he would be a part of SG next year “for sure.”
Esmeraldi and Poinsette are both familiar with the organization, both currently serving as senators. In addition, Esmeraldi previously worked as an orientation leader and Poinsette is a member of USF Ambassadors as well as the chair of the Student Green Energy Fund.
With talk of Florida legislators banning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives among Florida Universities, the debate featured frequent questions on the subject.
The candidates assured that, if elected, they would work to improve diversity initiatives and provide a safe atmosphere for all students, regardless of race, sexuality or religion.
While agreeing with the statements by previous candidates, Solano and Malanga stressed that they would remain impartial to political developments.
“At the end of the day, student government isn’t the real government,” Malanga said.
“We’re not interested in politics and that’s not our job. All we’re interested in is advocating for all students.”
All candidates spoke positively about implementing greater resources for international students, with the topic being a personal goal for Jindal and Esmeraldi, both international students.
“I know that we need more workshops, we need more opportunities. We want to include international students [and make sure] all students have the same opportunities,” Esmeraldi said.
Jindal spoke similarly, saying he hopes to improve scholarships for international students.
Regarding the recent drop in USF’s Black student enrollment, the candidates offered suggested plans to create a welcome environment for Black students.
“We’re going to try our hardest to push for a brother to brother and sister to sister program. The whole premise of this is to increase the retention rate for our African American male and female students,” Poinsette said.
“We’re going to host a barbershop talk, which is going to be a safe place for Black men to kind of come together and to speak on how it feels to be a Black man in America going to a [predominantly white institution].”
Additionally, Poinsette and Bell offered specific initiatives that would allow students easier participation in class for all students, such as left-handed desks and a greater budget for American Sign Language Interpreters.
Under OneUSF, cross-campus communication has remained a topic of discussion amongst the university.
“The whole idea with representing [the student body] is we are the bridge, and this would be the bridge between the students on the [Tampa] campus and the other students on other campuses,” Esmeraldi said.
The tickets all pushed for further transportation between the three campuses, with Solano hoping to increase more involvement between student organizations between campuses.
This election stands as a landmark for the St. Petersburg campus, with Poinsette being the first St. Petersburg student to run for presidency since consolidation. He mentioned the ease of communication between students and administrators on the campus and hopes to increase this across all campuses.
“Being a St. Pete student, I can walk up to the dean of students and ask him a question. At Tampa, you might have trouble communicating with the higher-ups.”
Voting is open from Feb. 27 through March 2. Students can vote here.
