The Student Government Association — consisting of the Undergraduate Council of Students, the Undergraduate Finance Board and the Class Coordinating Board — kicked off elections for first-year positions on its three co-equal branches at a meeting for potential first-year candidates Monday night.
The positions up for election include two UCS First-Year Representatives, two UFB First-Year Representatives and the full First-Year CCB board — which consists of a President, a Vice President, a Treasurer, a Secretary, a Public Relations Officer and a Community Outreach Officer — according to the slides presented at the event.
Results from the election will be announced both via email and in person on the Faunce steps Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. Elections for transfer and Resumed Undergraduate Education students will take place on a different timeline this fall, according to SGA Elections Chair Eli Sporn ’24.
Prospective candidates for SGA first-year elections must attend one of the two information sessions on Sept. 11 and 14 to be eligible to run, according to a Friday SGA email to first-year students.
All candidates must submit their petitions for candidacy by Monday, Sept. 18 at 11:59 p.m. for SGA to review. Petitions need to include a candidate statement draft, 50 handwritten signatures from first-year students and a signed Election Comprehension and Candidate Declaration Form, according to the SGA First-Year Elections Handbook.
According to UFB Vice Chair Ian Kim ’25, SGA has enacted a unified elections code that streamlines all elections into one timeline. It “makes the elections more uniform,” he said. Before the code passed in March, each SGA branch held individual elections.
Thirty-five first-year students attended the event Monday, according to its check-in form. Last fall, a total of 32 individual candidates ran in the first-year elections, Sporn said, adding that the large turnout at the presentation was “very unexpected” and that this year’s field could be “double the size” of last year’s.
In addition to reviewing budget requests from student groups, UFB Chair Arjun Krishna Chopra ’25 emphasized the importance of UFB representatives working efficiently this year due to “budgetary constraints.”
Each UFB representative is in charge of approximately 25 student groups, according to Kim. UFB representatives must meet with them regularly, according to the slides.
UCS President Mina Sarmas ’24 presented on behalf of UCS, which is in charge of “Campus Life Projects and University Policy & Legislation,” according to the presentation.
Sarmas summarized past UCS projects, including a free airport shuttle program and Project Tampon. She emphasized the skills that first-years can learn from serving on UCS, such as advocating for students and getting involved in university policy and governance. She also encouraged first-years to get involved with UCS committees, which range from academic affairs to equity and inclusion.
Having served as a first-year representative herself during the 2020-21 school year, Sarmas emphasized the importance of first-year representation in student government and Brown clubs overall.
CCB Senior Co-President Becca Erdenebulgan ’24 presented on behalf of CCB. “We focus a lot on building a sense of community,” she said.
Erdenbulgen stressed the range of events CCB hosts, from large events such as A Night on College Hill to smaller events, such as speed friending.
She also emphasized the significance of these events to the University’s student body. According to the presentation, last year’s Gala dance had approximately 2,500 attendees, while A Night on College Hill had roughly 1,400 attendees. Gigs on the Green — an event featuring student bands — had around 3,100 attendees.
She added that first-years can learn skills, such as budgeting, from serving on CCB. This year, CCB will be working with a $350,000 budget.
The week after the Sept. 18 cutoff, candidates can actively campaign with materials approved by the SGA elections board. On Sept. 22, ballots will be sent to the class of 2026 via email. At midnight on Sept. 25, ballots will close and candidates must remove all campaigning materials from campus.
This year, results will be announced three days after voting closes, according to Sporn.
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated UFB’s budget. The Herald regrets the error.
Indigo Mudbhary is a University news senior staff writer covering student government. In her free time, she enjoys running around Providence and finding new routes.
