In a lengthy meeting Wednesday night, the Associated Student Government filled open spaces on its Student Activities Funding Board and Executive Committee, two groups that work to oversee the finances and activities of Northwestern student groups.
SAFB gained two senators and one non-senator in the elections, while the Executive Committee gained three senators and two non-senators.
The Senate elected Le’Jamiel Goodall and Darren Brown to SAFB’s senatorial positions and Sarah Isgur to the non-senatorial position. To the Executive Committee, the Senate elected senators Debkumar Sarkar, Ben Cherry and Zaid Pardesi and non-senators Joe Montegna and Madhuri Kommareddi.
“I’m very happy with people that ran and won,” said Carson Kuo, ASG financial vice president.
Even though Isgur ran unopposed for the non-senatorial position, Kuo, an Education senior, said he is not concerned.
“It’s a tough position,” he said. “People who go for it are always very qualified.”
Isgur, a Weinberg sophomore, gained experience for her spot on SAFB with an internship on Capitol Hill this summer. She said she hopes to make funding a less punishing affair by increasing communication throughout the year with student groups.
Goodall, returning to SAFB for the third year, said he is glad to bring his experience back to the committee. The Weinberg junior, who has served on SAFB since Fall Quarter of his freshman year, has the most experience of all SAFB members.
Continuity in SAFB is important to maintain a competent knowledge of student groups, Goodall said.
“You can’t make decisions on one quarter of history,” he said. “It wouldn’t be fair to the student groups.”
Brown, an off-campus senator, has been honing his financial and organizational skills since Spring Quarter as treasurer and social chair of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. A Weinberg junior, Brown said he hopes to make SAFB processes like spring funding clearer to student groups.
“I think I can do a lot for this committee, and I’m willing to learn,” he said.
ASG Executive Vice President Srikanth Reddy said he was pleased with the election results.
“We have an almost perfect breakdown of ages and experiences, and that works well for any committee,” said Reddy, a McCormick junior.
Kommareddi, a Weinberg sophomore, said she is excited to begin work on the Executive Committee.
“I think it’s a natural extension of what I already do,” Kommareddi said.
For the past year, Kommareddi has worked with international affairs through GLOBE, where she as an external relations co-chair. She also worked on the re-election campaign for Ald. Arthur Newman (1st) and still serves as a campus liaison for Newman, attending regular meetings between Newman, ASG President Jordan Heinz, ASG External Relations Chairwoman Jada Black and Brian Miller, ASG’s liaison to Evanston.
Montegna, a Speech freshman, said he was disheartened to learn that he could not run for a senator spot this quarter since his dorm, the Public Affairs Residential College, holds its senatorial elections each spring.
To compensate, Montegna said he started a campaign to learn about the positions available on the executive committee.
“It was definitely the position for me,” he said. “I’m the most excited person in the world.”
