By Shivali Shah, Staff Writer
Student Government Association (SGA) elections are held every year and are a major part of being a student at River Hill. They give the student body an opportunity to run for office or elect representatives, inspiring students to create change.
The different positions available in SGA include president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and historian. Overall, the role of SGA is to give the student body a voice and to represent them in decisions that impact their respective class. Elections for both the Executive Board and class-specific SGA were held on June 5th, where a survey was sent out to each class to vote. Election results were sent out by Tuesday, June 11th
The choice to run for SGA is big, with the responsibilities of campaigning and organizing support for your platform. However, freshman Roselyn Bi explains why she believes re-running for Class of 2027 President is worth it, “I’ve always wanted to help others and allow all students to find belonging in the school community. Serving on SGA for the past four years has allowed me to combine my passions and experiences to create meaningful change in my community.” Similarly, Sophomore Sophia Chudnovsky, another incumbent candidate, says she’s re-running for Class of 2026 vice president because she’s “been on [SGA] for the past two years and it’s been a great experience [for her]. Planning and leading events has always been a passion of [hers], and getting to work with spirited and driven officers is a lot of fun.”
Candidates aim for the perfect campaign, one that successfully engages and influences voters to give their support. Roselyn’s approach to campaigning includes “get[ting] to know more people and really understand[ing] what changes they want to see, so that if elected next year, [she] can work towards further change that helps [her] class.”
In contrast to getting to know the voters better, Sophia wants the voters to get to know her through various social media platforms. “I’ve been campaigning on Instagram, specifically by sharing my platform and goals for this year. I think reminding voters to re-elect you is a great campaign strategy as it emphasizes that you served the previous year and are therefore knowledgeable on what worked and what didn’t.”
While each candidate brings a unique strategy to campaigning, their shared goal is to create a more connected student body. Roselyn emphasized her commitment to further uniting River Hill, all students and staff alike, “I plan on having more events, spirit weeks, and fundraisers the next school year while collecting input through surveys. I will also increase resources for our class, connect underclassmen with upperclassmen, and improve cultural awareness. I have an understanding of the teacher and administration’s point of view and the necessary steps to bring a group together and get things done.”
Sophia also plans to connect students through various spirit activities, “I definitely want to plan some sort of junior-bonding event to help increase spirit, such as a slime-making event or a movie night in the auditorium. Additionally, I want to celebrate more students! Whether that be through a student spotlight initiative on HawkTalk or an Instagram weekly highlight, I think it would surely impact students [at River Hill].”
All of the candidates strive to create change for their classes and have their peers’ best interests at heart, “At the end of the day, it is not about what changes I want,” Roselyn explains, “it’s what changes the class wants to see and that’s why I will work to implement changes and ideas from the class of 2027.”