Empower U
“The purpose of leadership is not necessarily just to accomplish goals, it is to help other people accomplish their goals. Because when that happens not only do they succeed but you succeed, so it becomes this mutually beneficial experience for all parties.” – Jacob Rudolph, presidential candidate
President: Jacob Rudolph
Year: junior
Major: political science
Minor: music, LGBTQ studies, communication
Experience: College of Arts and Sciences senator in Student Government, P100 tour guide, student director of the LGBTQ Alumni Association
Vice president: Austin Eng
Year: sophomore
Major: psychology
Minor: management science, philosophy
Experience: crime prevention assistant (UMPD), student liaison for Healthy ‘Cane Network
Platform Initiatives
Environmental Protection
Create a plan to make the university carbon neutral as soon as possible, stop UM from investing in the oil industry and use leftover food from dining halls to feed the homeless
Health and Wellness
Establish “Task Force to Address Mental Health,” offer free, high-quality tampons in residential housing and improve facilities for the Federation of Club Sports
Voter Turnout
Register all eligible students to vote and cancel classes on voting day
Diversity
Create and integrate a “diversity” cognate into university curriculum, reopen the Women’s Center and hire more black faculty
Campus Life
Create a Rathskeller phone application, offer a 24/7 food option, get better-quality toilet paper and require Otto G. Richter Library to have copies of every mandatory textbook
Transparency
Bridge gap between administration and students, look into financial distribution of tuition and fees and condense all wellness resources into one easy-to-read web page
Academics
Make “A+” grade weighted as 4.3 GPA, create “leadership” minor, increase veteran students’ resources and design a course on “life skills”
Bystander Intervention
Expand ‘Canes Care for Canes and address sexual assault and drug abuse
One Team, One U
“We’ve all held different leadership positions and the main thing we’ve learned from those is ‘You’re not the person who’s going to come up with every single idea. You’re not the person who is going to mastermind everything. You need to be able to work with committees, work with people and find what all those different opinions are so you can properly lead and you can properly direct the student body.’” – Jason Goldenberg, presidential candidate
President: Jason Goldenberg
Year: junior
Major: biology
Experience: associate chief justice of the Interfraternity Council (IFC), former judicial chair of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, teaching assistant, peer mentor in the Advanced Program for Integrated Science and Math (PRISM)
Vice president: Emmy Savidge
Year: junior
Major: public health, history
Minor: chemistry
Experience: junior class senator, vice chair for Public Relations Committee on Student Government Senate, Panhellenic Representative to the Association of Greek Letter Organizations
Treasurer: Andrew Weinstock
Year: sophomore
Major: finance
Experience: Commuter Senator, Freshman Leadership Council, treasurer of Hillel
Open-forum Town Hall meetings at the Rock:
Hold forums once or twice a month at 7 p.m. so anyone walking by can voice concerns to members of SG and administrators. The meetings would be heavily publicized and are a major point of their overall platform
Reusable takeout boxes
Students would be able to purchase reusable takeout boxes at dining halls on campus
Shelters at Hurry ‘Cane stops
Add weather shelters at the Hecht Athletic Center and Frost School of Music shuttle stops
Express Hurry ‘Cane Shuttles
Implement express shuttles along the route between Flipse Building and the Cox Science Building
Safe Ride Expansion
Expand Safe Ride, a ride program available to students to get around campus safely at night, until 5 a.m.
Rental Umbrellas
Rent out umbrellas to students at the front desks of campus buildings
Hydration Tents
Set up hydration tents at tailgating areas of Sun Life Stadium to prevent heat exhaustion
True to You (http://truetoyoumiami.com)
“We want every student to know we’re here for them individually.” – Vikesh Patel, presidential candidate
President: Vikesh Patel
Year: junior
Major: biomedical engineering
Minor: business law
Experience: Freshman Leadership Council, UOutreach Committee, Campus Liaison Council Facilities and Security, former treasurer and president of Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity, co-founder and vice president of Transfer Students Association, Homecoming Executive Committee, Greek Week treasurer, Association of Greek Letter Organizations vice chair, Tunnel of Oppression Build Committee
Vice president: Ashley Pittaluga
Year: junior
Major: marketing, psychology
Experience: project coordinator of Freshman Leadership Council, undergraduate academic affairs representative on UM Board of Trustees, former vice chair and current chair of Homecoming Executive Committee
Treasurer: Morgan Owens
Year: junior
Major: political science, women’s and gender studies
Minor: LGBTQ studies
Experience: former freshperson and current treasurer of SpectrUM, SAFAC, former president and current treasurer of Delta Lambda Phi (international fraternity for gay, bisexual, transgender and progressive men), treasurer for Association of Greek Letter Organizations
SG Gives Back
Make care packages available to students in the student government offices during finals week. Create a program with the Butler Center that would create SG volunteer service days in the community. Improve the approachability of SG for students
Rat Order Board
Add a screen that shows which orders are available to be picked up at the Rathskeller, rather than just announcements over the speakers
Eliminate Miami Shuffle
Increase the frequency of Hurry ’Cane Shuttles and creat more stops, potentially by creating new routes
Flood Control
Lessen the flooding that occurs on pathways due to rain and new construction around campus
Early Syllabi Access
Make past class syllabi available for students during registration so that students are not surprised by requirements after enrolling in a course. Faculty would not need to have their syllabi available, but past syllabi for the course would be.
Correction, Feb. 12: This article did not include Andrew Weinstock’s experience as Commuter Senator and Emmy Savidge’s experience as Panhellenic Representative to the Association of Greek Letter Organizations.