Fordham University’s United Student Government (USG) hosted a “Meet the Candidates” event on Friday, April 18, for both the executive ticket and executive board positions.
The event commenced with five-minute opening statements from the two executive ticket candidate teams, who detailed their platforms and then answered questions from The Ram and audience members about the specifics of their campaign promises.
Following the executive tickets, the executive board candidates then presented their platforms and answered questions from The Ram.
The details below provide a summary of both the candidates’ platforms and key takeaways from the speeches they gave during the event.
Executive Ticket
Ashley Garcia, FCRH ’27, is running for executive president alongside Yeonsu Son, FCRH ’27, who is running for executive vice president.
Garcia, who is currently studying abroad at Fordham’s London campus, joined the meeting via Zoom and spoke first. She said her and Son aim to create tangible changes that will enhance Fordham’s ability to work for its students. She explained that their campaign is built around holding administrative staff accountable, building community and fostering a greater overall sense of transparency.
“We want Fordham to feel like a place where everyone belongs, not just socially, but structurally,” Garcia said.
Some of their specific policy proposals include creating a mentor-to-hire program for students, pushing for transparency from the university administration on decisions that impact the Fordham community, such as tuition, the creation of percentage-based scholarships, increasing funding for arts programs and extending dining hall hours.
Son added that they also want to expand accessibility on campus, specifically in dorms, create dedicated support systems in Counseling and Psychological Services for LGBTQ+ students, increase training for professors to ensure all students feel respected and safe in classes, increase career support for international students and implement more reliable Wi-Fi routers.
During the Q&A portion of the event, The Ram asked Garcia and Son how they plan to fund new Wi-Fi routers, given Fordham’s plan to cut discretionary funding by 10% in an effort to combat growing expenses. In her response, Garcia did not explain specifically where the funding would come from, but did say that given the significant impact unreliable Wi-Fi has on students, she believes the university should not view it as discretionary funding, but rather as a necessity.
The Ram additionally asked how they plan to work with the administration to implement percentage-based scholarships. While Son and Garcia did not give specifics on what that collaboration would look like, they said they would work with whatever department allocates scholarships, emphasizing that a shift to percentage-based scholarships is essential for supporting students’ financial needs.
Madeline Ando and Ayden Johnson
Madeline Ando, FCRH ’27, is running for executive president alongside Ayden Johnson, FCRH ’27, who is running for executive vice president.
Ando and Johnson explained that their campaign centers around advocating for student voices to ensure they are heard and acted upon, taking action to turn ideas into real, impactful change and building spirit at Fordham through campus traditions and community events. They said they also want to make USG more connected, transparent and accessible to accurately represent the student body.
“Because at the end of the day, student government should work for students,” Ando and Johnson said. “We’re not just running to lead, we’re running to listen.”
The Ram asked for more details about their proposal to add swings to Fordham’s Rose Hill campus, which is mentioned in their platform document. Ando said she has already spoken to Facilities about the idea and has been told that it would be feasible. The pair would work to place the swings in two locations: the grass area between Keating Hall and John Mulcahy Hall and the grass area outside of the William D. Walsh Family Library. Ando added that the swings would ideally be fully funded by the Office of Student Involvement (OSI).
The Ram also asked how Ando and Johnson plan to push for improvements to Fordham’s food and dining options. Ando said that they have already advocated for improvements to dining and that they will continue to elevate students’ voices to improve campus food. One example that they provided was how they recently requested that a soft-serve ice cream machine be placed in the Marketplace, although it did not end up being successful. Johnson added that they plan to work with the Office of Multicultural Affairs to ensure that there are more suitable options for students with dietary restrictions and dietary specifications related to religious and ethnic backgrounds.
Finally, The Ram asked about their platform initiative to increase on-campus career-based jobs for students, which was also mentioned in their platform document. Ando said that she has already worked with Facilities to create student internships in that department, and that they hope to expand this initiative to other departments such as the Office of Sustainability.
Vice President of Operations
Berkley-Ayne Dorsten, FCRH ’27, is currently running uncontested for vice president of Operations.
During her speech, Dorsten said she wants to streamline the new club process to make it more efficient for students to navigate. She said she would do this by ensuring that students have questions answered on the front-end of the club approval process to minimize back-and-forth communication, as well as asking students more direct questions to ensure they have the necessary information and speed up the decision process.
Vice President of Student Life and Experience
Roger Chmielowiec, FCRH ’27, is currently running uncontested for vice president of Student Life and Experience.
He said he wants to increase student involvement by holding more events and activities, and specifically cited an idea for a paint and sip night. Chmielowiec said he specifically wants to hold events that are aimed at improving students’ mental health.
Vice President of Budget and Finance
Siri Bhat, GSB ’27, is currently running uncontested for vice president of Budget and Finance. She was unable to attend the event in person, so she sent a video that was played for attendees.
In the video, Bhat said she wants to work with OSI to streamline the budget appeals process and make it easier for everyone involved. She also said she wants to increase communication between liaisons and clubs to ensure club leaders have their questions answered and are referred to helpful resources.
Vice President of Fordham College at Rose Hill
Grace Shin, FCRH ’28, is currently running uncontested for vice president of Fordham College at Rose Hill. She was also unable to attend in-person and sent in a video that was played for attendees.
Shin said that she wants to work with the Study Abroad Office to update their website to include accurate and helpful resources for students, push to amend the excused absence policy to include mental health reasons as an accepted excuse, continue and expand the undergraduate research grant writing program and reduce textbook expenses for STEM students.
Vice President of Gabelli School of Business
Roxana Villanueva, GSB ’27, is running for vice president of Gabelli School of Business.
Some of Villanueva’s proposed initiatives include working with USG to make internships count as an excused absence for days that have alternative class schedules, increasing communication and transparency between the Gabelli Dean’s Council and students to ensure their voices are heard along with furthering mentorship programs, like the First Year Advising Mentors (FAM) Program, to provide students with guidance and resources on internships, careers and more.
Neha Thyagarajan, GSB ’27, is also running for vice president of Gabelli School of Business.
Thyagarajan described her platform as having three pillars focused on academics, career pipeline and community. Regarding academics, Thyagarajan said she wants to advocate for Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy modules to be provided to students across all majors to ensure students are prepared to utilize AI in the workplace, and she wants to implement “Early Exposure” modules for first-year Gabelli students to gain a foundation in finance and accounting that will prepare them for recruitment cycles.
Additionally, Thyagarajan said she wants to create a “Pipeline” mentorship program that serves to aid underclassmen with resumes and interviews. She also added that she wants to ensure the Gabelli Dean’s Council provides a line of communication for students and club leaders on campus.
Vice President of Health and Security
Aiden Costella, FCRH ’27, is running for re-election as vice president of Health and Security.
Costella described some of the initiatives he has helped champion over the past year and said he plans to continue this work going forward. Specifically, he mentioned that he has spoken and worked with the administration to address student concerns around things like sexual health, worked on the Contraceptive Access Policy Commission to advocate for a change to Fordham’s contraceptive policy and planned student programming to show the documentary “Roleplay” and educate students on topics like online harassment.
Going forward, Costella said that he wants to continue expanding student programming on topics related to health and security, continue building communication between students and the administration and keep pushing for necessary policy changes.
Erin Verch, FCRH ’28, is also running for vice president of Health and Security.
She said her main goal is to advocate for Fordham victims of sexual misconduct and make Fordham a safer place for students through awareness, prevention and support. Specifically, she talked about the red zone, the period of time between August to Thanksgiving, when researchers have found that more than half of sexual misconduct cases on college campuses occur. She said change requires proactivity, which would involve implementing programs to educate students early on, starting during first-year orientation.
Verch said she also wants to work with the Title IX Office to update their website to include clear and accessible information and resources. Additionally, she said she wants to make resources more visible by including QR codes and resource materials in residence halls and communal spaces. She didn’t specify what resources she was referring to or what the QR codes would link to.
Vice President of Sustainability
Demitrius Farias, FCRH ’28, is currently running uncontested for vice president of Sustainability.
Farias said that he wants to improve Fordham’s waste system by standardizing recycling and composting systems. He also said he wants to increase student engagement with the Sustainability Committee through tabling and events that people are excited about and interested in. Additionally, Farias said he wants to create a formal network to connect sustainability clubs across Fordham’s Lincoln Center and Rose Hill campuses and to connect students with Fordham’s Bronx Green Jobs Center.
Vice President of Facilities and Dining
Lauren Gracia, FCRH ’29, is currently running uncontested for vice president of Facilities and Dining.
Gracia said she wants to make facilities and dining more accessible to students by holding regular tabling events and consistently posting online surveys to gather student feedback. She also plans to increase the Facilities and Dining Committee’s social media presence to highlight and broadcast her committee’s work.
Vice President of International Integration
Jenny Hong, FCRH ’27, is currently running uncontested for re-election as vice president of International Integration. She was unable to attend the event in-person and sent a video that was played for attendees.
In the video presentation, Hong said she wants to create a mentorship program to connect international upperclassmen with new international students, expand Culture Fest and other annual celebrations, develop a more student-centered Global Transition program and update and improve the international student webpage on the Fordham website to make it more resourceful for international students.
Voting for the USG elections opened on Monday, April 20, at 12 p.m. and closes on Tuesday, April 21, at 5 p.m. Students will get an email with a link to the voting form, or they can go to this website.
