A look into this year’s candidates and their plans for Student Government
BY KENDALL BARNHARDT STAFF WRITER
Fall 2021 Student Government (SG) elections are here, with 22 people running for the Student Senate body.
Freshman Zayd Hamid:
Candidate Zayd Hamid firmly believes in public service. Hamid’s main campaign goals are strengthening mental health services, increasing student awareness and political engagement, and to make living at Mason an easier process.
“This place already feels like home to me. Who wouldn’t want to make their home a better place?” asked Hamid.
Hamid has experience with working in a student government body by working as the senior class secretary at his high school. Hamid also has over fifty hours of community service and was awarded a seal in Civic Excellence by the Virginia Board of Education for his time spent helping the community.
Freshman Hannah Kroetz:
Hannah Kroetz wants to run for SG so she can take an active role in her community. A primary goal of Kroetz’s is to serve a broader more inclusive selection of food at dining halls on campus. Kroetz wants to have gluten-free options and also wants to raise awareness about the seriousness of people’s dietary restrictions.
Freshman Jayden Fulford:
Jayden Fulford wants to try a different approach from other candidates, where he will be reaching out to different fraternities, clubs and groups so he can get a better understanding of what needs to be done. Fulford realizes the lack of involvement from the students within SG and wants more awareness so the community and students can be more involved.
Fulford is another candidate who’s a big proponent of mental health awareness. Fulford has a plan to create an area where students can distress away from their dorms using dogs and pets to help.
Freshman Gavin Shires:
Gavin Shires wants people with dietary restrictions to have more availability in terms of food options. Shires also wants people to have the option to change their names on their IDs. He hopes this has a positive impact on non-cisgender people who may not identify with the name given to them at birth. He hopes to make people feel authentic, comfortable and free in their own skin.
Freshman Colin Wilson:
Colin Wilson majors in Government and International Politics and wants to get more experience by being a part of the SG body.
Although Wilson does not know what he wants to achieve in his new position, he has plenty of experience working within politics. He was able to get an internship with a state representative that he worked under for some time.
Freshman Olivia Nealon:
Olivia Nealon was a part of the student government within her high school. She wants to expand her knowledge in politics as a Government major, so she really wants to make a change at Mason being a part of SG.
Freshman Josh Sol:
Josh Sol hopes to be able to get involved at Mason. He doesn’t have any ideas for change in mind currently but hopes to positively impact the Mason community in any way he can. Sol hopes while he’s a senator he will find something that appeals to him and that he wants to change.
Freshman Noor Abunzinadah:
Noor Abunzinadah loves Mason and the community and wants to do anything possible to make the campus better.
“When it comes to sustainability, communication, and activities, there’s so much work we have to do,” she said.
Abunzinadah wants to make Mason a greener campus by pulling larger focuses on sustainability and reducing single-use plastics. She also wants to work on producing better communications between the university and students when it comes to COVID-19 updates.
Abunzinadah has different experiences with public relations by working under the secretary-general of the Model UN Club and also worked as her student class ambassador during her time at high school.
Freshman Andrey Arcidiacono:
Andrey Arcidiacono also hopes to get involved with SG and broaden his understanding of how to work within the organization. Arcidiacono’s main focus is how to improve student’s academic achievement and make sure that all students’ voices are heard.
Arcidiacono has experience being a part of clubs and even holding the position of vice president in the history honors society at his high school
Senior Leena Takieddin:
Leena Takieddin sees that Mason has holes and gaps in the policies. She hopes to focus on inclusivity and making sure everyone at Mason has a place where they can voice their concerns.
Takieddin hopes to meet new people, hear their experiences, encourage them and help them do what they like doing. She hopes to do this by increasing the number of surveys, forms and meetings solely for students to voice their opinions.
Takiddin is majoring in Public Policy and hopes to gain more experience by being involved within SG.
Freshman Dylan Morse:
Dylan Morse has been a part of student councils since middle school and has always enjoyed giving back and improving his community. Morse’s main focus is to relieve students of the financial burden that students have to take on themselves. He’ll be looking for different options on how he can ease that problem going forward.
