Each fall semester, a second set of United Student Government (USG) elections are held at Fordham Lincoln Center. This election cycle, the Class of 2023 elected their freshman senators, and the entire student body voted to fill the positions left vacant from the spring 2019 elections.

The open positions were USG Chair of Operations, USG Chair of Facilities and Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) class senators. Most of the competition this election was found within the race for the freshman senators, as those running for Chair of Operations and Chair of Facilities, Ben Guo, Gabelli School of Business ’21; and Yunuen Cho, FCLC ’21; respectively, ran unopposed. 

This semester, eight students ran for freshman senators, an unprecedented number for USG elections. The candidates included Aisha Sanwal, Ali Huzma, Emily Peper, Michelle Moughan, Reilly Higgins, Ryan Horowitz, William Breslin and Shelby Westbrook, all FCLC ’23. 

Ultimately, only three of the candidates were elected to serve the freshman class. On Sept. 26, USG announced at their weekly meeting that Higgins, Westbrook and Breslin were elected as the Class of ’23 senators. 

There seemed to be a common theme among the candidates regarding their goals and intended initiatives; specifically, changing the same-sex overnight guest policy, a rule many candidates see as outdated. 

“My main point of action,” said Higgins, “would be the outdated overnight guest policy. It blows my mind that opposite-sex guests are not allowed. We are adults who can handle ourselves.”

Meanwhile, Horowitz’s goals included “improving the gym by repainting it and adding more free weights, pushing to change the opposite-sex overnight guest policy and maybe getting some printers in McKeon,” he said.  

For Moughan, her campaign focused on “increasing student involvement in the election process and at Fordham, but my primary goal is to listen to the needs and requests of the freshmen.” 

Rachana Komatireddy was also elected as the sophomore senator. 

The responsibilities for the positions are focused primarily on meeting the needs of the student body and allowing the student government to run smoothly and efficiently. 

Cho, who will serve as the Chair of Operations, will be responsible for assisting the President of USG in performing executive duties, most reporting the status of new clubs and performing a semester review of those that already exist.

“Making Fordham comfortable for the community is what I’m looking to do,” said Cho about her new position. “I think clubs like SJP, RHA, and Be Well Club are doing their part to bring us together, and the best I can do in the position I’m in is to give people a space to unconsciously feel good hanging out in,” she said.  

The chair of operations is also responsible for notifying the Senate of executive actions and reserving rooms for committee meetings. 

As the Chair of Facilities, Guo has the primary responsibility of serving as chair of the Facilities Committee as well as the Food Services Committee.

Over the course of the year, Guo also hopes “to maximize efficiency with some of the club processes and make it more transparent and accessible to the student population at Fordham.” 

The freshman senators, the most sought after positions this semester, must meet with members of their class and keep USG informed of any concerns or problems the students may have. They also have the power to overturn actions taken on behalf of USG by the Executive Board not previously sanctioned or deviating from sanctioned USG votes.