(2 undergraduate seats available)

Mia Mcgraw

A main area I would focus on as a Student Senator is Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. As a woman of color, I believe it is substantial for our institution to understand students’ wants and needs in diversifying our campus, especially through faculty. Our institution should be equitable and transparent, and my goal is to ensure the transparency is given back to the students and workers.

Another area I want to focus on is the bridge between colleges inside the Twin Cities Campus and the other campuses that are a part of the University of Minnesota system. There is disparity among the colleges in the Twin Cities campus, and making connections with fellow students is a starting point to understand where and what we can fix. I want to make strong connections with other colleges to build the bridge from a specific college to the whole institution. This allows for stronger resolutions and demands that I can help make. Also, as a Student Senator, I have seen blatant differences between the different UMN campuses, and I believe connecting with the other schools will allow for more equity inside the system.

I am a current Carlson Student Senator, and a voting member in the Undergraduate Student Government. I am also involved in USG’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee. In this committee, I am working on collaborating with the University Hiring Committee to hire more diverse faculty. I am a part of the University Student Core Curriculum Review Committee, where I will be representing Carlson. In this committee, I will look at the LibEd requirements that have not been reviewed for 30 years to give input and change these requirements and the current suggestions.

At Carlson, I am on the Business Board's Executive Board, and the Policy and Career Development team, where I work to consult Carlson’s policies and relationships to understand room for development and to help create impactful change. I also serve as the DEI chair for my sorority.

In the past, I have worked on two political campaigns, where I learned how to outreach and connect with those around me.

Roscoe Torbenson

As a third-generation gopher, I proudly wear our schools’ colors and relish in walking amidst the best student body in the country. However, I like many feel frustrated at the current state of our leadership.

In the past few years, the university has faced substantial challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, rising crime, and worker shortages. However, amid these times Minnesota’s flagship university has remained under constant scrutiny over our administrator’s conflict of interest allegations, pay raises, tuition hikes, and absenteeism during public forums.

As a member of the student senate, I will fight for frequent and open town hall meetings between students, faculty, and members of the board of regents. Also, my presence on the senate will include a push for a “student regent” to be present during all board of regent meetings.

Additionally, I will advocate to give Carlson students greater access to majors and minors outside of the business school. Allowing us to further build on our already world-class education. Along with this, I promise to address issues that affect all students at our university, including high tuition costs, public safety, housing affordability, and budgetary accountability.

Finally, a core priority of my time as student senator will be sustaining consistent, and open relationships with my classmates. I pledge to hold frequent in-person and online Q&As to ensure everyone in our community knows their voice is being heard.

As a senior in high school, and in the wake of the death of George Floyd and the COVID-19 pandemic, I along with eight other students founded the Eastview High School Student Representative Committee. We created a direct line between students and administrators to voice their concerns about events and problems occurring within school and around the broader academic community. The committee successfully helped evolve school curriculum to better tailor to student needs and interests, improved trust within the school, and promoted various protest and student advocacy efforts.

Shashank Murali

No statement provided

(9 Seats available)

Abdirahman Dek

Hi all, My name is Abdirahman Dek, I am a sophomore at the school studying Political Science and Sociology. I am very delighted to announce that I am running for the student senate for the first time, and I’ll have the honor and opportunity to represent my fellow students in the College of Liberal Arts. As a fellow student, I understand the importance of having someone who truly represents your voice and interests.

As your representative, I will work tirelessly to ensure that your concerns and ideas are heard and implemented. I am passionate about making a meaningful difference on campus and I believe that together we can create positive change.

My approach is to listen, collaborate, and take action. I want to hear from you about what matters most to you, what changes you would like to see on campus, and how we can make a difference. I will work closely with my fellow senators and the university administration to bring about meaningful change.

As a member of the College of Liberal Arts, I understand the unique challenges and opportunities that we face as students. I will work to ensure that our voices are heard and that we are represented in all decisions that affect our academic experience.

I believe in the power of student leadership to create a better future for all. I am committed to being an authentic and hopeful representative for you, and I would be honored to have your vote.

Thank you for considering my candidacy, and I look forward to the opportunity to serve you.

Ethan Fiegel

The area that I am currently the most passionate about is student mental health. I am happy with some of the steps that the U has taken recently to address the student mental health crisis, but I believe a lot more can and should be done. Students shouldn't have to wait close to a month to schedule a therapy consultation, and there shouldn't be an arbitrary cap on the number of sessions students are allowed during their time as a student, because that discourages people from seeking help when they really need it most. More needs to be done to help students readjust to the new, post-pandemic, normal, especially students who are new to the area and don't already have a strong safety net to turn to. One completely other, unrelated, issue that I am passionate about (and working on now) is university policy on ChatGPT. While it certainly challenges some current parts of the academic system, I believe we should try to incorporate it into the way we teach and learn, instead of pushing for an outright ban.

I am a current student senator here at the University of Minnesota, serving my first term after being selected to fill in one of the vacant seats following the semester change. Furthermore, I have advocacy experience in Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers' 2018 gubernatorial campaign, where I helped make phone calls on behalf of his campaign, while also being involved in neighborhood canvassing.

Jacob Richter

My advocacy focuses in the areas of academic policy and student equity. I am currently working on changing University policy relating to instructor grading deadlines to make grading practices more fair and comprehensible for students. I plan future advocacy in the fields of promoting teachers assistantships for undergraduates and making the Roommate Matcher form inclusive for LGBTQ+ students.

I have served one term on the Senate already, where I have been involved with the USG Academic Affairs Committee . I also bring experience form two Fortune 500 internships in the areas of finance, IT and law.

Joslyn Bass

No candidate statement provided.

Max Theroux

No candidate statement provided.

Niel Drabek

My advocacy goals center around improving financial accountability at our university and using resources to address climate change and affordable housing.

As students, we deserve to know how our tuition dollars and other financial resources are being used. I will work to ensure that the university is transparent and accountable in its financial decision-making process, and that resources are being used effectively and efficiently. I will advocate for steps to reduce our university's carbon footprint and address the affordable housing crisis when working with financial institutions at the University.

In my time in the Undergraduate Student Govenrment (USG) as an At-Large Representative, I have had the opportunity to work on a project meant to provide USG with an in-depth understanding of our university's financial system. This project has allowed me to see firsthand how our university's financial decisions are made, and it has inspired me to take action to improve financial accountability at our institution. A report, co-authored by myself and Nicholas Perszyk, detailing the findings of the project, will be released in mid-April on the USG website. If you have questions about university finance before then, feel free to email me.

(1 Undergraduate Seat Available)

Maddie Klafka

My advocacy goals include centralizing a research program by formulating a website that allows for students to access professors that are interested in undergraduate students help. Additionally, I am interested in advocating for Biological Science students. I want to help bring issues to resolution that are presented to the Senate

This previous semester, I was working on advocating for the Academic Affairs committee in extending library hours on the West Bank campus. I also began working on centralizing research opportunities for undergraduate students.

Pavan Gutipatti

I've been a student senator for the past two years and am currently the chair of the student senate. My advocacy goals are centered around improving the student experience both inside and outside the classroom. Inside the classroom this means making sure students have access to the resources they need to be successful academically and outside the classroom it means fostering an environment where students feel safe and welcome while having the resources/support system to ensure their personal growth and wellbeing is well.

Silas Simpson

I served as a senator last semester and have lobbied the state legislature for various advocacy groups. My major goals include building community within the student body and making it easier to find research opportunities. I would also like to see more study spaces around campus.

No candidates

No candidates

(4 seats available)

Nicholas Perszyk

No statement provided.

Christopher Stallard

I want to represent other students who can’t commit much time to the political process themselves, due to work, extracurriculars, heavy course loads, etc., and to be their voice to the University. As a current Student Senator, I wrote a resolution to increase stipends for undergraduate research programs to match the new campus minimum wage. This stipend increase (which raised the effective wage from $12.50/hr to $15/hr) was implemented by the administration. I would like to address a few key issues in the senate this year, namely freezing tuition increases, improving access to University resources for students, and continuing my advocacy for undergraduate researchers. More information is provided below.

First, I want to address large increases in tuition over the past several years, particularly for out-of-state students (a 92% increase since 2012-2013!). I believe that the University, working together with the state government, can secure funding to keep tuition at its current level for the next several years. I will also advocate for a policy where tuition and fees remain the same for the first 4 years a student is enrolled, so students can know with certainty how much they’ll be paying before they enter the university.

Second, I want to improve promotion of and access to university resources for students. In some cases, many students are unaware that free resources like therapy appointments, legal services, or food distribution programs even exist. Other programs are either lacking or cost additional money, and in my opinion these should be expanded and replaced with universal options where possible. An example of this is the Universal Transit Pass, which gives students access to transit by default and has greatly increased student ridership while being significantly less expensive than the opt-in system it replaced. I would work with the student community to identify areas that currently need improvement or additional promotion as well as to determine effective methods of promoting these programs.

Finally, I want to continue my support of undergraduate researchers through various avenues. I believe that research is one of the most important functions of a major university like UMN, and helping undergraduate students gain experience with research is invaluable. I will work with the Undergraduate Student Government and talk to students to understand why many students choose not to do research. Using this information, I will determine the most effective changes to make to increase research participation and advocate for them. I will also reach out directly to the community of undergraduate researchers for an additional perspective on current issues.

Samra Bojcic

The U is such a massive university that there are so many wonderful opportunities and programs that get lost in the sea of other opportunities and programs; CCAPS being a prime example of this. This lack of marketing is preventing students from discovering amazing opportunities that are available to them. In addition to this, I have noticed that it can be difficult for students to find the right people to contact and the necessary information to participate in these programs. This creates barriers for students who are eager to get involved and take advantage of what the university has to offer, I know that it did for me. I had to go through many hoops to finally end up where I am now, and I am determined to make it easier for students of tomorrow to figure things out. This goes for not only CCAPS, but all of UMN’s unique offerings. In light of these challenges, I would like to advocate towards creating a streamlined and user-friendly platform that would make it easier for students to discover and participate in university programs. By doing so, I aim to promote creativity and curiosity among students and help them find the resources they need to succeed. Furthermore, I have taken the initiative to attempt to create a CCAPS student board to get CCAPS voice out there to the rest of the university. Let’s ensure all students have the opportunity to take full advantage of the fantastic programs and opportunities offered at the U!

Daphnie Wiatr

My advocacy goals include work on making mental health resources more accessible to all nursing students. Within the University Mental Health is not prioritized, and this needs to change to better us students and our performance in and out of the classroom. I also hope to advocate for more opportunities and representation for nursing students around campus regarding research, employment, and other student organizations. My previous advocacy experience has included my role as an ALR (at large representative) in Undergraduate Student Government. Through this role I have advocated for students' rights and ensured that their opinions be heard.