Following the election of Katherine "Cookie" Rifiotis as the next president of the Associated Students of Michigan State University, or ASMSU, the general assembly voted in the rest of the 55th session's Office of the President on April 19.
Only two members of the Office of the President are returning from the last session. Though the new session has already begun, positions will be in effect after the semester is over.
The new Office of the President will consist of:
During the elections, representatives in the general assembly asked a series of questions ranging from what the candidate thought was the most "pressing issue" regarding student involvement to how they would ensure marginalized groups are being heard to their goals for the session.
Vice President for Finance and Operations-elect Iancio
Iancio ran unopposed and won by a unanimous consent vote. This will be his second year in this position.
One of his primary goals is to continue working on ASMSU's Safe Ride program, which he is in charge of.
"We have the opportunity to take this program to new heights," Iancio said.
Vice President for Academic Affairs-elect Westrin
The most highly-contested position during the elections was vice president for academic affairs, with four candidates. And with 20 votes, political theory and constitutional democracy junior Dylan Westrin won. He will replace the current vice president for academic affairs, social relations and policy senior Ewurama Appiagyei-Dankah.
The candidates that ran against him included comparative cultures and politics junior Kelsie Luokkala with 11 votes, social relations and policy sophomore China Gross with one vote and comparative cultures and politics senior Samuel Klahn with zero votes.
Westrin, Luokkala and Klahn ran for James Madison College representative seats, but were not elected. Westrin served as a representative for James Madison College during the last session.
Westrin has had two years of experience in the academic affairs department, has served on the sexual assault task force and has worked alongside students and administrators in multiple academic governance-related committees.
And as the vice president for academic affairs, he said he hopes to make a change on campus by turning outrage into outcomes.
"For the first time in a long time, we have the opportunity to make real change because people are actively listening to our concerns," Westrin said. "Like so many times before, the administration has failed us ... Academic governance is where ideas turn into action."
Vice President of Governmental Affairs-elect Pales
Running against two other candidates, Pales won with one abstention and 31 votes. He will replace the current vice president of governmental affairs, international relations senior Tyler VanHuyse.
The other candidates for this position were economics freshman Dale Kruithoff and environmental economics and management sophomore Tanner Mathy, who didn't show up to the election.
Pales is currently the community liaison for ASMSU and has experience working with governmental affairs.
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He said though direct lobbying, protesting and other forms of activism are great change-makers, the most powerful thing students can do is to "harness our collective voice at the ballot box." His biggest goal in this position is to maximize student voter turnout.
"I'm willing to work on any initiatives you bring me, no matter what it pertains to," Pales said. "We have so much power as students, and we can do so much to leverage our voice at the state, local and national level."
Vice President for Internal Administration-elect Kakos
Originally, Kakos ran for this position against one other candidate, Klahn, but he gave up his bid. Kakos won with a unanimous consent vote. He will replace Rifiotis, who is now president-elect.
Kakos said he is looking forward to expanding on ideas introduced last session and focusing on relationships that extend beyond student government.
"Because such a wide net was cast, there wasn't much focus on what we were trying to work on with the mentorship program and class counsels," Kakos said. "Being in the office before, I know what worked and what didn't work. I'm excited to see them be more effective."
Vice President for Student Allocations-elect Bosworth
Just like Iancio and Kakos, Bosworth also won unopposed in her bid to become vice president for student allocations. She will replace the current vice president for student allocations, supply chain management senior Stephen Brown.
Bosworth has been a part of ASMSU for two years, has worked in the student allocations department and said she hopes to create incentives for Registered Student Organizations on campus to adopt more sustainable practices and incorporate mandatory sexual assault bystander intervention training for startup groups.
At the end of the elections, the new Office of the President was inducted, but their positions are not yet in effect.
