By Sierra Babbie
During the Student Association general election and referendum, Hassani St. John was elected president, Dominick Andre won the vote for vice president and the student body opted for the continuation of the SA fee.
St. John achieved 56.37% of the presidential vote with 332 votes in total, and Andre achieved 59.59% of the vice-president vote with 351 votes. Angel Almaraz Castillo won the race for treasurer against three other candidates by achieving 50% of the vote with 295 votes.
For the referendum, 516 students, or 87.61% of voters, chose to keep the Student Association fee.
The election for SA senate was competitive, with 23 candidates running for 10 spots. The 10 candidates who achieved the greatest support, in order of most votes to less votes, are Sofia Tabares, Lillyana Vargas Bradshaw, Krishma Karki, Ava LaVine, Sami Goodman, Justin Thomas, Hrudayee Jagtap, Juliana Praino, Sanam Baniya and Nicholas Bilow.
During the meeting on April 8, the SA senate approved funding for several campus organizations.
The Criminal Justice Club sought funding for several upcoming trips to local facilities relating to potential careers for students in the major. These trips include visits to the Clinton County Correctional Facility, Federal Correctional Institute Ray Brook and New York State Police Troop B headquarters.
“It’s more of a hands-on experience that students don’t necessarily get in the classroom. They’re able to see things and talk to professionals in the field, which isn’t necessarily always offered in criminal justice classes,” president of the Criminal Justice Club, Ben Weldon said. “It’s providing experiences and opportunities to students that aren’t already there.”
The Student Association approved the club for $750, the full requested funding, in a 12-1 vote.
House of Divinity, the campus modeling club, was approved for $750 in funding for a fashion show in a 10-3 vote. The event took place on April 16 in collaboration with K.I.N.K.S., and was inspired by New York Fashion Week. Ashley Rufino, president of House of Divinity, shared some of the aspects of this year’s event.
“We’re having a collaboration hair portion with K.I.N.K.S. People that are part of that collaboration will be able to get their hair done for free in exchange for modeling the hairstyle,” Rufino said. “We’re also having dance teams perform. We’re having some students that are interested in music also collab and do a musical performance. We just want to bring the creativity that we see on campus.”
K.I.N.K.S. was approved for $300 in funding to compensate three stylists who attended the New York themed fashion show in an 11-2 vote.
“Last year, we weren’t able to pay our stylists what they deserved. I want to make it fair for the stylists that are spending their time and their craft,” president of K.I.N.K.S. Deney Jackson said.
