This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Mass Amherst chapter.
SGA Spring Elections are here! Elections are being held for SGA President, Vice President, and Trustee and voting will take place March 9th-12th on Campus Pulse.
This ticket includes Vinayak Rao for President, Jake Schissel for Vice President, and Sarah Freudson for Trustee!
Vinayak Rao – Candidate for President
Vinayak Rao is a junior majoring in Communications and Investment Analysis along with a minor in International Relations. Born in India, Vinayak moved to the United States when he was 10 years old and has lived in Belmont, MA his whole life. Vinayak serves as the Chairman of Finance for the Student Government Association. With this job, Vinayak is responsible for managing a trust fund valued at $95,000 to allocate to registered student organizations seeking emergency funding. Some of the RSO’s Vinayak and his committee have funded this year include the Theatres Guild, the Womens Volleyball Team, the Cape Verdian Student Alliance and many others. Through his understanding of the school’s finances and his general communicative ability, Vinayak is the perfect candidate to efficiently manage the funds SGA deals with and would stand as the face of the SGA with great pride. In addition to his Chairman position, he is currently also a brother of Theta Chi fraternity and a Marketing Director for TEDxUMassAmherst. In his free time, Vinayak enjoys watching cinema and has a secret passion for writing fiction.
Jacob Schissel – Candidate for Vice President
Jacob C. Schissel is a sophomore political science major. After his freshman year, he decided that he wanted the opportunity to serve his country and enlisted in the United States Navy Reserves. Jacob took two full consecutive semesters off to complete basic training and active duty; he has proven his ability to lead others by serving as the Recruit Chief Petty Officer of his boot camp division and duty section leader in his Navy A-School. Through hard work and dedication he has advanced to the rank of Petty Officer Third Class. Since his return to the University, Jacob has proudly represented Central Residential Area as an SGA senator; he currently serves on the Student and Academics Affairs Committee where he is working to strengthen student and academic relations. Jacob also proudly serves as a volunteer firefighter for the town of Amherst. As SGA Vice President, he plans to support Vinayak’s initiatives and wants to work with the SGA Secretary of Veterans Affairs to ensure that UMass remains a leader in support for its military veteran students. When he can find the time, he enjoys hiking, swimming, and watching Top Gun.
Sarah Freudson – Candidate for Trustee
Sarah Freudson is a Junior Legal Studies and Journalism double major with a minor in Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies. After her time at UMass she plans to go to law school and pursue employment as a corporate lawyer. She is a first generation student from Ukraine but currently her family resides in Simsbury, Connecticut. Sarah is currently the Public Relations Chair of Sigma Kappa Sorority and believes that this position will provide her with valuable experience applicable to the Trustee position. She is also involved with Her-Campus as a writer and Sorority Liaison where she enjoys writing meaningful articles directed at her fellow peers. She also works as a Legal Intern at the Student Legal Services Office located in the Campus Center, aiding students with client-attorney matters. Her outgoing and positive personality and organizational skills show that she is ready for the position as Trustee; Sarah is heavily interested and invested in the inner-workings of the University system. In addition, Sarah sees the legality and conduct of both the administration and students needs improvement and modernization. In her free time she has a passion for hiking and kayaking and loves to reread the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Alexa: Why do you want to be representatives of the Student Government?
Vinayak: We want to be representatives of the SGA because of our involvement on campus and because of our leadership experience that we possess. I’m the Marketing Director of TEDxUMassAmherst and the Chairman of Finance in SGA, Jacob is an Officer in the Navy Reserve and is a Volunteer Fire Fighter and Sarah is a Legal Aid for the Student Legal Services Office and is on the Executive Board of Sigma Kappa Sorority. We are all involved in several endeavors in this campus and have a wide array of skills that would make us great candidates for these positions that we are running for.
Alexa: What is the #1 reason students should vote for you?
Vinayak: The number one reason why students should vote for Vinayak, Jacob and Sarah is because we are the one ticket that promises to serve The University and, most importantly, YOU. Our ticket revolves around goals that can have an immediate impact on the student body and will definitely benefit every single one of us. Increasing Awareness for Student Legal Services is very important, especially in light of the events that happened during the ‘Blarney Blowout.’ The rights of students were violated and I can guarantee you that many of the UMass students affected are not aware of their rights, that Student Legal Services exists AND that they are appointed free counseling by a professional lawyer.
Alexa: What has been your most noteworthy accomplishment as the Chairman of Finance and how does that reflect on your ability to lead as President?
Vinayak: My most noteworthy accomplishment while serving in the Finance Committee would be getting elected Chairman of Finance by my committee and having the opportunity to lead them with the decisions we make regarding our trust fund, which is valued at $95,000. With which we allocate to RSOs, Teams and Clubs throughout campus. This reflects on my ability to lead because to be a leader, you have to understand the people that are part of your institution and the finances that serve as the backbone of the institution. I am a people’s person that can relate to others very easily and I am also someone that understands how the schools funding procedures work.
Alexa: How do you think your involvement with the Navy Reserve might help you to be a successful Vice President?
Jake: The biggest thing I can take away from my experiences in the military is my ability to work with a team and contribute to a sum that is greater than the parts. Teamwork and responsibility are instrumental in a sailor’s ability to perform at his capacity. I have also learned about the values of leadership and how to not only manage a team but lead one. The Navy has had an enormous impact in making me the man I am today, and I believe that my experience makes me a great candidate.
Alexa: How has your involvement as the Public Relations Chair for Sigma Kappa provided you with the necessary skill set to become the next Student Trustee?
Sarah: It has made me a lot more personable and ready to reach out to everyone. It’s made me realize how important listening is and how each circumstance is a different venture. In my position you cannot look at doing PR work for the Philanthropy events and Membership events the same way, the same goes towards the workings in being a trustee. Being in a sorority really opened up my eyes to why constant communication and forming bonds with everyone is so important. If I were to be elected Student Trustee, I intend to form bonds with everyone. I would want to form bonds with all of the Trustees, the 4 other student trustees and the Graduate Student Senate so that my time spent as Student Trustee would be more effective and gratifying.
Alexa: How do you plan to increase awareness of the Student Legal Services Office?
Vinayak: We plan on spreading awareness for the SLSO by publicizing it more during the summer NSOs that all freshmen are required to intend. We would love for there to be a mandatory meeting so that the new generations can see the valuable work the office does and can seek legal help that can be crucial for their futures. SLSO teaches important things like how to be a savvy renter to knowing your rights when it comes to encounters with the police. They teach our students how to be respectful and responsible and it’s a shame that their services are not more known throughout the campus. Just like a Gen-Ed is a requirement, we feel knowing your rights should be mandatory as well.
Alexa: How will you improve RSO funding and communications?
Vinayak: I plan on improving the procedures that RSOs receive funding by streamlining the application process and by creating thorough and insightful budget training sessions, that the leaders of RSOs would benefit greatly from. Secondly, this year was the first time we implemented a Sports Council – a conglomeration of all sports teams that meet together every week and discuss their teams performance on the field and financially. I want to do this with all RSOs on campus by grouping together RSOs with similar purposes and goals, like a Performing Arts Council, an Events Council and many more. This, as seen with the Sports Council, has created a system of self-governance with these RSOs and has helped implement a form of checks and balances within the RSOs and allows them to seek help among each other.
Alexa: How will you increase career service opportunities for all colleges within UMass?
Vinayak: We want to invest more funding into career guidance by working with the Office of Career Services in Goodell and the several colleges on campus. We want to encourage them to explore further opportunities to help their students find internships and jobs. As of now, Isenberg’s Chase Career Center and The College of Engineering’s Career Center are the only two career service centers that assist students for these specific majors. Using these two colleges as a model, I’d like to implement a career service center in all different colleges on campus. Whether a Freshman needs help writing a resume, whether a Sophomore needs help writing a cover letter, whether a Junior needs help finding an internship or whether a Senior needs help finding a job, having more career guidance services on campus would greatly benefit all students transitioning into post-undergraduate life.
Alexa: What is the first and most important change you wish to make after you take office?
Vinayak: The first and most important change I’d like to make is to increase involvement in SGA. A lot of people on campus do not know what SGA is or all the numerous endeavors we are responsible for. we think this has to change and we want to encourage students to get involved, because it never is too late to get involved and to make a difference. If students knew what kind of work we did behind the scenes, that would incentivize students to want to get involved.