By Halaina Lablanc

It was a real show of democracy when students running for Student Government Association senators in this fall’s upcoming election gathered to push their views to make the university a more student-friendly place.

All candidates were asked to answer one question: If elected, what would be the first thing you would want to accomplish as an SGA senator?

“If I’m elected into SGA, the first action I hope to take is to use social media to get freshmen and all students more involved with SGA’s doings,” said freshman Kally Morse. She said using social media to explain new university policies and highlight events that SGA is sponsoring would more effectively reach students.

She added that social media could be used to feature what different faculty members have to offer.

Freshman Logan Trupiano agreed, and said that better use of social media, such as Facebook pages, is a more efficient way to communicate with students.

Freshman Morgan Robb would like to push for students’ ability to eat at any dining hall on campus, and freshman Helina Dawit would like to see healthier and more sustainable food in the dining halls.

Concerning off-campus housing, juniors Jennifer Zargo and Christopher De Resende and freshman Moises Caraballo expressed that they want to connect the off-campus and commuter community with the on-campus community. Among ideas were surveys and more weekend events for commuter students.

Freshman Vincent Mastantuno had a more traditional approach to his campaign. He said he intends to accomplish what Suffolk students want and that he wants to be an approachable source.

“A representative’s rule is not accomplish personal goals, or to get what said senator wants to get done; rather it is to accomplish the goals of the class,” he said.

Freshman James DeAmicis echoed this sentiment and said that he would strive to properly represent such a diverse school.

The gap between students and SGA is something that freshman Sara Solomon said she would like to remedy by creating a freshman council where students can be up-to-date on what is going on in the university.

Freshman Sabrina Ali, who is running unopposed for senator-at-large for the College of Arts and Sciences, said her primary goal is to create a self-advocacy program for students here at Suffolk.

“They say college prepares you for life,” she said, but added that problems cannot be solved without what she called “advocative interaction.”

Most of the candidates were focused on the idea of community within the university and felt that a sense of school spirit is lacking in many ways.

Freshmen Nadia Pich and P. Sabrina larrobino, along with senior Felicia Kalil, suggested ideas ranging from pep rallies to excite students to making clubs easier to create.

Freshman Thomas Holmes also said he wants to get get outside funding for clubs and other events, while freshmen Willamina Panacy and Shivani Patel suggested holding more activities within the residence halls.

Ideas to intermingle international students with domestic students and a textbook exchange to reduce costs were ideas presented respectively by freshmen Artur Shvartsman and Faiz Rahman-Sabean.

Eighteen candidates for the class of 2019 are up for class senators, followed by three for the class of 2017 and one for the class of 2016. Elections close this week.