Election season for the new Student Government Association (SGA) president and vice president is now underway, until Feb. 28. This year, there are two candidates running for president and three candidates running for vice president. Presidential candidate Isaac Persky and vice presidential candidate Ryann Sax are running on a ticket together, while the remaining candidates are running independently.

Similar to last year, The Panther emailed the following questions to all five candidates.

To learn more about the candidates running for president, click here. To learn more about the proposed amendments for SGA’s Constitution, click here. Students interested in voting can do so here.

These interviews have been lightly edited for clarity and stylistic standards.

Ryann Sax

Year: Sophomore

Major: Business administration (entrepreneurship emphasis)

Pronouns: she/her

Current SGA Position: N/A

Note: Running on a ticket with Isaac Persky

Q: Why are you running for the position of vice president?

A: Since freshman year, I have always wanted to get more involved within the school. SGA is a great way to get involved, help out the student body and be a liaison between the student body and administration. When reviewing the goals of the position, I instantly resonated with what my impact could be and how I can best help out the student body. Ideas instantly started rolling through my head.

Q: What are some of the goals you would aim to achieve if elected?

A: If I were elected, I would definitely focus on getting clubs and social groups more funding for more student success and happiness. Continuing on with that idea, I think that student wellness and happiness is one of the most important ideas I will base my goals off of. I would want to create a wellness center for students or different wellness activities that take place on campus that are open to anyone. I believe that having this center would be a calm and nurturing place for students to reflect, grow and have a safe place on campus. I would also like to have more finals and midterm programs like big study groups, coffee and donuts and tools to bring down stress/anxiety during these times.

Q: What initiatives are you planning to increase diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts on campus?

A: DEI is an extremely important topic that needs to be more addressed in daily Chapman life. I think that having a DEI senator already is a great way to kickstart any new ideas. (I would also propose) starting an anonymous email or phone number where students can share their feelings or concerns within any aspect of the school. I also think that DEI (promotions) should be more widespread. Tabling, cultural events and more social posts would bring more awareness to DEI. I also think that I would want to reach out to neighboring restaurants in the Circle to promote their food, create a discount for students and help allow students to learn more about different cultures through food!

Q: What mental health initiates would you want to pursue if elected into office?

A: Mental health is a huge area that I would want to (have an) impact on and focus more attention (on) too. As someone who has grown up with mental health issues, I have found ways to self-soothe and use resources on campus. I would want to bring more awareness and help host activities on campus meant to reduce stress. More yoga on the lawn, help by creating a peer group, a monthly meeting open to all students to hear their concerns and just being an approachable presence on campus are all ways I would encourage mental health. I would also want to campaign more mental health resources on campus, highlight mental health clubs and promote quiet/calm areas on campus (as) part of my mental health campaign.

Q: What initiatives are you planning to improve a positive campus atmosphere?

A: A positive campus atmosphere would allow everyone to feel more at ease and less stressed. Having food trucks on campus, dogs for midterms and finals, a wellness center, more ways to join clubs and learn about them, more yoga/group activities on the lawn and maybe seeing more mental health figures speaking on campus. I would also want to connect with (the University Program Board) to see about doing group activities and bring our ideas together for more student happiness.

Q: What is one thing you would want to change about Chapman and how SGA is running currently? How would you go about this?

A: I feel like SGA isn’t talked about enough. When looking at the data, only a small percentage of students voted in the last election. I would definitely want more student involvement and events that take place. Tabling in the Piazza, sponsoring food trucks or just being more accessible are all part of my plan of action. I think that having a phone number to text instead of an email address would be a great way for students to feel more comfortable reaching out to the program.

Sydney Lasensky

Year: Sophomore

Major: Political Science

Pronouns: she/her

Current SGA Position: Underclassmen Senator; Sitting on University Academics Affairs Committee

Q: Why are you running for the position of vice president?

A: I am running for vice president because I want to further my work in SGA to better serve my community. This university provides me with an incredible education, deep-rooted friendships and a place to call home. These memorable and important experiences inspire me to give back to Chapman for everything it has given me and my peers. Error, though, is inevitable. My passion to give back includes both addressing the errors and finding solutions as well as highlighting the good. Serving my community would be an honor and a privilege that I would not take for granted.

Q: What are some of the goals you would aim to achieve if elected?

A: If I were elected, I would aim to cultivate a more transparent environment and a stronger bond between SGA and the student body. This could be achieved by a multitude of initiatives: increased tabling efforts in the Piazza to get name and face recognition with students, assisting senators (in) connecting with their constituencies and addressing any misunderstandings, and shedding light on the process of funding requests and the reasoning behind decisions. This degree of transparency is incredibly important because the student activities fee is paid by all students. Thus, they should all be aware of where their money is going.

Q: What initiatives are you planning to increase diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts on campus?

A: Diversity, equity and inclusion is crucial for the well-being of all students. Therefore, it shall be implemented across campus. A fellow senator created the event Diversity Fest, which brought together different cultural clubs and diverse organizations. This event allowed students to learn about others and share about who they are. This was a fantastic opportunity for students and faculty and should be implemented every year. Senator Cintya Felix should be applauded for her immense efforts in DEI. Furthermore, the Israel, Palestine and Hamas conflict flooded our campus, and many people did not feel seen or heard while grieving. Campus should be a place where students feel supported and seen. Having a space to have insightful and mature conversations would be incredibly beneficial to students and faculty. DEI is a community effort, not an individualistic one.

Q: What mental health initiatives would you want to pursue if elected into office?

A: If elected into office, I would like to work with the student counseling center to attain a more effective and cohesive treatment process and timeline. Large portions of my constituency shared concerns of the timely manner of receiving someone to talk to and who they are talking to. Some students speak to students that are working to be in psychological services and not current psychologists. I believe working alongside the counseling center to better serve the students’ mental health needs would be a great way to start better conversations about mental health on campus.

Q: What initiatives are you planning to improve a positive campus atmosphere?

A: Campus space should be utilized in a more student-centered approach. As your Vice President, I will accomplish this by advocating for more student-reservable spaces for academic use. The Starbucks patio is a student hotspot, and therefore should be revamped to meet student needs. Adding new umbrellas, tables and chairs because the current quality is diminished. Additionally, academic stress and burnout from long days on campus is very prevalent amongst students. Commuter students especially feel the long days on campus because of the absence of an on-campus dorm to rely on for in-between class naps. The dreaded academic stress and burnout would be alleviated by implementing nap pods on campus. The nap pods could be placed in Argyros Forum (AF) for student use. If students believe and care for this initiative, I think it would be an excellent use of the student activities fee. 

Q: What is one thing you would want to change about Chapman and how SGA is running currently? How would you go about this?

A: One thing that I would change about Chapman is the food presence on campus, meaning (that) there are not too many food options on campus other than our five campus eateries. I think it would be beneficial to students if we had a consistent schedule of food trucks on campus. Having a consistent schedule will be able to remedy the feeling of eating the same thing everyday, and it gives students more options than Starbucks or Qdoba. It would be a big ask of Chapman to build a restaurant on campus. Therefore, food trucks work perfectly.

In terms of changing one thing in how SGA currently operates, (I would want to) change the interface in how SGA responds to students’ funding requests. This could be seen through researching an app to use where students can submit their applications and forms within the allotted time (and) the response could be given through the app, whether it was approved, denied, tabled, etc. Overall, this would be very beneficial to senators making the decisions on the funding requests but also for the students applying for funding.

Tiffany Le

Year: Junior

Major: Data Science

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Current SGA Position: Upperclassmen Senator; Allocations Committee Chairperson

Q: Why are you running for the position of vice president?

A: To help others. My main reason for continuing my service in Chapman’s Student Government Association at a greater capacity can be summed up by this quote from Ram Dass and Paul Gorman’s leadership book called “How Can I Help?: Stories and Reflections on Service”: “The real grace of conscious service, then, is the opportunity not only to help relieve suffering, but to grow in wisdom, experience greater unity and have a good time while doing it.”

Since October of my freshman year (2021), I have been fortunate enough to serve the Chapman community through my roles in SGA as Fowler School of Engineering Senator (2021-2023), Upperclassman Senator (2023-present) and the Allocations Committee Chairperson (2023-present). While I often like to joke or say that SGA has been my personality trait, my commitment to this organization stems from a genuine passion to help others and bring about positive change. While I’ve been in this organization for quite a while, I still have much more to give to this organization and (the student body).

Throughout my almost three years serving in various roles in SGA, I have cultivated a thorough understanding of the inner workings of this organization and become deeply familiar with what happens at Chapman on both a day-to-day basis and university-wide. I have done so through engaging in various opportunities in SGA, such as “Safety Walk with PSAFE,” the Involvement Fair, “Cocoa and Conversations” and so many more. These experiences have highlighted areas for growth and excellence within SGA and shaped me personally as a leader, student and human being. Being in these roles has highlighted areas for personal growth and improvement, teaching me the importance of great leadership, collaboration, communication and supporting one another throughout our projects, endeavors and aspirations. I see, feel and understand the passion of the student body to enhance the undergraduate experience and will do so through positive and practical change.

Q: What are some of the goals you would aim to achieve if elected?

A: The primary initiatives that I would be most interested in achieving are divided in two sections: External and Internal affairs:

i. External (Chapman Community) Affairs

a. Sustainability: Transportation and eatery

b. Transparency on textbooks and their costs

ii. Internal (SGA Affairs)

a. Assisting with creating structured criteria when reviewing funding applications to ensure that each request is reviewed with the same standards

b. Smooth and organized transition for incoming members of SGA

For sustainable transportation, the advocacy piece centers on more sustainable transportation and eateries, such as skateboard storage and rental bikes for free or at a lower cost. The idea is to mirror what SGA has already advocated and funded in the past with the Laptops-To-Go program, which allows students to rent laptops from a kiosk in Argyros Forum. SGA recently approved funding for PSAFE’s rental bike program. This program, run by the Department of Public Safety, loans bikes out to students to use if their bike was stolen, etc. Additionally, SGA has communicated with the Office of Sustainability regarding the Green Fund Project, which focuses on sustainability projects such as the solar-powered benches located in the dorm courts and the Davis quad. One ongoing discussion with the Office of Sustainability is in regards to Sodexo’s pricing of their disposable tableware/silverware and reusable tableware/silverware. One of the external goals I would like to accomplish is to reduce or subsidize the cost of reusable tableware/silverware to be more affordable and attractive. These are simply the start to making Chapman a more sustainable campus.

For the textbook relief program, the advocacy piece centers around advocating for a campus that utilizes cheaper/sustainable textbook alternatives or open-source material. Additionally, there should be transparency for the costs of textbooks, homework or exams tied to each class, similar to how there is a fee associated with some courses. My goal is that textbooks required for a course will be displayed when searching for classes in studentcenter.chapman.edu. This will help students be more aware of the additional costs of enrolling in that course and have an opportunity to prepare accordingly. There are currently textbook assistance programs offered by different offices, but many students are unaware of them. I aim to include information about these resources in course syllabi and encourage professors to share this information in class.

In regards to SGA Finance, this branch of SGA has had a lot of growth this past year such as hiring a finance administrative assistant, two assistant directors of finance and having more conversation and transparency about our voting processes and finance policies. While this is an excellent step in the right direction, there are still areas for growth. One goal that I would like to implement is SGA having a new criteria list created by each senate which illustrates that senate’s funding priorities and requirements. Through this, the review and decision-making of each funding application will be considered with the same criteria and priorities.

Q: What initiatives are you planning to increase diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts on campus?

A: In order to have diversity on campus, we need to break down the barriers that prevent students from attending this campus or any institution. The most common factors that deter a student from attending Chapman or other institutes are the costs, distance from home, academics, location, etc.

“Summer melt” is a common problem, especially among lower-income and first-generation college students. Many high school graduates who have been accepted and plan to enroll will oftentimes lose their opportunity to attend if they do not obtain sufficient financial aid, miss important deadlines or lack support from family and friends.

As a first-generation college student, I was fortunate enough to be a part of the Promising Futures Program Summer Bridge program, which allowed me to create personal connections with current students. My initiative would extend that idea to all freshman and transfer students. Around May, Orientation Leaders will be announced of their selection, and this is an excellent opportunity for OLs to connect with the first-year students to receive information and ask questions about college. This would allow a more personal connection with the first-year class throughout the summer leading up to Orientation Week and Move-In.

The idea, as mentioned earlier, of “Summer Melt” brings the second part of the plan to expand and bring DEI into different aspects of campus life. WIth DEI being introduced into the General Education curriculum as a requirement for undergraduate catalogs starting in Fall 2023, I believe holding a mandatory DEI training designed like Dani Smith’s Healthy Panther session is essential.

This past week, I was fortunate enough to attend a DEI training hosted and led by Misty Levingston, the director of Black Excellence and Achievement at Chapman University. Throughout this training, I thought about how beneficial this would be for incoming students if implemented in the First Year and Transfer Orientation Week leading up to “We Are Chapman.”

During my time as an Orientation Leader and freshman, one of my favorite and most memorable experiences of Orientation Week was “We Are Chapman” and the Fenestra Forum that followed. I believe that it would be beneficial to have a more formalized DEI training session leading up to those events.

Q: What mental health initiatives would you want to pursue if elected into office?

A: I was fortunate enough to serve on the 2021-2022 SGA Mental Health and Wellness Subcommittee which did research on the eight interconnected dimensions of wellness (and) well-being: emotional, physical, occupational, intellectual, financial, social, environmental and spiritual. All of these dimensions of wellness can have an impact on the mental health of a college student. Oftentimes, students find it hard to prioritize and balance their mental health with school, responsibilities and involvement.

With that being said, it would be beneficial to host an event or create a questionnaire form that will redirect a student to the correct resources such as Psychological Counseling Services, (the) Tutoring Center, Fish Interfaith, etc. to cater towards a specific wellness dimension.

Furthermore, the current Psychological Counseling Service on campus is severely understaffed. An initiative I would like to take is to have more therapists available and employed. Additionally, I would like to work with the Psychological Counseling Services and the SGA Mental Health and Wellness subcommittee to create a guide of other nearby institutions/clinics that may be more affordable and/or take insurance that students can go to.

Additionally, I would like to make mental health a greater focus point at organized meetings, town halls or open forums. This will allow for more open communication about this topic and create space for organizations to talk about it, where support is lacking and how it can be better advocated for. Like Dani Smith's C.A.R.E.S. student volunteers, there would be a similar group of students led by an advisor who serves as trained peer advisors.

Q: What initiatives are you planning to improve a positive campus atmosphere?

A: One of the main contributions to a campus atmosphere is its physical environment, including greenery, the overall setting and the availability of comfortable sitting areas inside or outside. For many students, the university serves as their second home, so the physical environment significantly influences how comfortable they feel. Is there a room to study outside, meet friends or get fresh air? That said, one of the initiatives that I would like to work on is advocating for more places for students to study or hang out with their friends outside and get some fresh air, such as having more outdoor tables and seating.

In conjunction with this point, I believe that focusing on green initiatives can improve the environmental quality of the campus and contribute to a sense of well-being among the campus community. One of the initiatives that I would really like to continue and bring to fruition is the expansion of the community garden and fruit trees to the K Residence Hall and the other off-campus housing such as Panther Village, Chapman Grand or Chapman Court. Additionally, I hope to advocate for gardening classes to be offered for students to enroll in which promotes a green thumb and community. These opportunities allow students to learn the basics of gardening and foster a sense of community and sustainability.

Q: What is one thing you would want to change about Chapman and how SGA is running currently? How would you go about this?

A: I believe that SGA is an important institution at the university, but it has lost major components of collaboration and communication over the years. COVID-19 has impacted a lot of campus life worldwide, and in the adjustments coming out of the pandemic, we have not been able to bring back all the pieces we had prior. At the end of the day, Chapman University and SGA are here to better the undergraduate experience and campus atmosphere.

College is the time in our lives when we explore the world and become more in tune with who we are. We’re developing so many skills for life after college while learning how to be functioning adults contributing to society. We are the next generation of change, and now is truly a starting point for building the idea of vulnerability.

“WeAreChapman” is really a special piece of our campus and a vital part of redefining what it means to be a part of the Chapman community. In the growing gap between SGA and the community, there has also been an increase in individual biases and the perpetuation of stereotypes. As leaders on campus, we are tasked with being unbiased and fair because we act as the bridge between the student body and the administration.

We are the individuals with the voices speaking for our constituencies, which means representing ALL of them, despite any personal opinions or grievances that have formed through stereotypes. We are in a position to break down the barriers that have developed through mass generalizations, and it is important to remind one another of that ability.