By Nico MachlittSTAFF WRITER

There are some new faces at the weekly Student Government Association (SGA) meetings as a result of recently-held elections for justice, senate and public relations positions. Many applied for positions and 18 were voted in to be part of SGA.

Sophomore and SGA Senator Carol Pollock thought the election process was relatively smooth. “The election process was not too difficult and it was much more of a friendly competition than anything,” she said.

One of the first tasks a candidate must complete before running is collecting 150 signatures from students around campus – that is approximately how many each senator represents.

“This was not as difficult as it sounds because many people are willing to help you when you mention you want to represent them,” said Pollock.

Mabruk Ahmedin, a sophomore SGA senator, had no problem getting his 150 signatures. “It was fun getting people to vote for me. I can make a difference for people who normally don’t have a voice. I want to be more involved on campus and to actually be a part of something that could make a difference.”

Freshman senator Katrina Tacconelli is already highly involved on the Hofstra campus with activities like Danceworks, Model UN and as a Hofstra Pride Ambassador. Tacconelli ran because she wanted to become even more involved with students.

“I wanted to make a difference in the Hofstra community by having more school pride, getting more involved in service activities, and being an advocate for all the students here at Hofstra,” Tacconelli said. “I am so fortunate that all the students elected me and I promise, to the best of my abilities, to make a difference. I am so glad to be on Senate and I can’t wait to help make positive changes in our Hofstra community.”

Many of the new senators joined SGA with new ideas in mind.  “I wanted to start initiatives at Hofstra to advocate for students complaints and improve the quality of student life on campus. I believe that we all have the power to make Hofstra University number one,” said senator Sarah Esteban.

Esteban is currently trying to change the sprinkler system on campus.  Many of the sprinklers currently water the sidewalk or spray students. Conservation of the sprinkler water is also important to Esteban because during recent rainstorms the sprinklers were still active and wasting water.

Pollock is also working on her own initiatives, including getting the school radio station to play in the dining halls. “I’m particularly focused on [that] because a lot of students don’t know our radio station is ranked the best college radio station in the U.S.,” she said. Pollock believes that having the station play on campus would promote the radio station within the Hofstra community, foster school spirit and would give more listeners to the hosts of WRHU’s segments.

The new SGA senators are focused on improving this school and will be working throughout the rest of the year to do so.