SGA elections lead to full senate

On Tuesday, Oct. 4, the UW-River Falls Student Government Association swore in 12 new members into the Student Senate at its weekly meeting.

The members, elected through a ballot sent via email to university students this fall, fill in a multitude of different senatorial roles. Some of these roles are military senator, at-large senator, international senator, and first-generation senator.

The First-Generation Senator Graciela Figueroa is a first-generation college student from Minnesota. “It’s nice to have that representation,” she said. “Having a first-generation person of color is also important.”

The position of first-generation senator is a new position that opened this fall in the Student Senate, according to Figueroa. “I noticed a bigger population [of first-generation students] on campus. And just making sure that having someone [on the senate] who knows what the experience is like is very important,” she said.

The elections for the open Student Senate positions closed on Friday, Sept. 30. A total of 213 students voted in the fall elections according to Vice President Ava Baden. That is roughly 4.5% of the total 4,729 students enrolled at UW-River Falls, according to the university’s website.

Even with the low voter turnout, the Student Government Association has a full senate, according to President Joe Schlies. “It is a very proud accomplishment that we have a full student senate. And it just goes to show that students really truly care about the place they have on this campus,” he said in the meeting.

In an email, newly elected military senator and a member of the Wisconsin National Guard, Gabriel Traicoff, seeks to ensure that the voices on the campus are properly represented in student government. “I want to properly represent the student body,” he wrote. “Especially our military students, given my position.”

“Getting elected to SGA (Student Government Association) is really just the first step,” Dean of Students and Faculty Advisor Katie Jackson said in the meeting. “Like most things in life, what you put into it, you get out of it. There will be a lot of opportunities that will come your way to represent the student body.”

Newly elected senators for the Student Senate are:

• External Relations and Legislative Affairs Director – Evelyn Nelson
• Disability Resource Senator – Sarah Vogt
• First Generation Senator – Graciela Figueroa
• Health and Counseling Senator – Audrey Mayer
• International Senator – Jeremy Seo
• Military Senator – Gabriel Traicoff
• At-Large Senator – Brady Penfield
• At-Large Senator – Cassidy Boeckermann
• At-Large Senator – Lashawna Vogel
• At-Large Senator – Tyler Dean
• At-Large Senator – Nick Maxwell
• At-Large Senator – Dylan Stryhn