UConn Elections: Who and what is on the ballot?

The 2024 University of Connecticut elections are being held this week. Voting will be open for undergraduate and graduate students from Tuesday, Mar. 5 at 12 p.m. through Thursday, Mar. 7 at 12 p.m. The ballot can be accessed by visiting the UConntact website or going to vote.uconn.edu. 

The marquee race on the ballot is the election for President and Vice President of Undergraduate Student Government of Storrs campus, better known as USG. Students at the Hartford and Stamford branch campuses will also have elections for their student government presidential tickets.

This year’s election for Storrs USG President and Vice President features four presidential tickets: Bryan Bussolari and Olivia DeLuca, Jada Lexie and Heaven Buckham, Lorien Tuoponse and Arunima Chaturvedi and Mariam Vargas and Anna Charles. 

In written statements from three out of the four tickets, this year’s presidential candidates talked about why students should vote in this year’s presidential election, which usually features turnout well-below 50%. A commonly-recurring theme was that candidates believe this year marks an opportunity for students to gain representation that will properly address their concerns. 

“This year, students will have the opportunity to elect candidates that can bring a fresh perspective to USG and lead it in a direction of serving every undergraduate student concretely and in ways we all will notice,” said Bussolari in a statement. “Too often in this election and in past ones, there is too much talk of what we WANT to do and what we will advocate for.” 

Candidates also agreed that this is an important time for increased advocacy from the student body as UConn faces problems like proposed budget cuts to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, increasing tuition rates and housing issues.

“UConn is at a critical point currently. We are grappling with housing insecurity, rising tuition, budget crises, food insecurity and more,” said Tuoponse in a statement. “Whether you think USF has done a good job in the past or doesn’t advocate enough, advocacy on behalf of students has never been more important.” 

The candidates also share the goal of making USG more accessible to students in order to ease the negative view of the organization that many students hold. Vargas and Charles proposed instituting a code of ethics for the organization, while Bussolari and DeLuca proposed weekly “Fireside Chats” that would highlight the accomplishments of USG and keep students in the loop of what USG is doing. The candidates also encourage students to visit the USG office in the Student Union to get to know them better. 

“Making ourselves available around the office will bring USG together as a family and foster a welcoming and friendly environment for USG skeptics to visit, learn the faces and the names of all those who work so hard and to realize that USG is run by undergraduates for undergraduates,” said Bussolari. 

Another high-profile race on the ballot is the election for Undergraduate Student Trustee to the Board of Trustees. This position is the sole representative of UConn’s undergraduate population on the board. 

This year, there are five candidates running for undergraduate student trustee: Zachary Boudah, Sean Dunn, Eric Meade, Haritha Subramanian and Nahum Valiente. 

In written statements from three out of the five candidates, they all emphasized how important the position is to give undergraduate students a voice in important decisions that will impact their experience at UConn, and as such, students should vote in this election. 

“The board has a hand in a lot of very meaningful decisions at this university,” said Meade in a statement. “And so when we get the chance as students to decide who we want to be representing us to the change makers at this school, it is imperative that we jump on that opportunity.” 

Trustee candidate Zachary Boudah also noted the student trustee represents all of UConn’s campuses, not just Storrs. Boudah is running to be the first undergraduate student trustee from a regional campus. 

“Unlike any other position in any student government in any campus, the Student Trustee represents all 24,000 undergraduates – which in turn means they need to represent the interests and needs of the people in Groton, Hartford, Waterbury, Stamford and Storrs,” said Boudah in a statement. 

In addition to these two races, Storrs USG has elections for Comptroller, Chief Diversity Officer, Multicultural and Diversity Senator and Academic Senators based on different colleges and schools at the university.

Lastly, there are ballot referenda for four Tier III student organizations who are seeking fee increases to fund their organizations. These proposed increases would not take effect until Fall 2025. The four organizations are The Daily Campus, Nutmeg Publishing, Storrs USG and UCTV.

For more information, visit vote.uconn.edu or USG’s “Elections Hub” webpage.