Pictured above are the four students running for SGA: Justin Fountain, Danny DeCrescenzo, Lincoln Anniballi and Sydney Livingston. // Photo courtesy of Alexis Friedman.
As the conclusion of the 2022-23 academic year rapidly approaches, Hofstra University’s Student Government Association (SGA) looks to elect a new president and vice president for the upcoming academic year. Voting opens in the Hofstra portal on Tuesday, April 25, at 9 a.m. and closes at noon on Thursday, April 27.
This election is unique in that it is the first competitive SGA election in five years, and it allows students to vote for presidential and vice-presidential candidates individually rather than two candidates running on the same ticket.
This spring, the candidates for president are Lincoln Anniballi and Justin Fountain. The vice-presidential candidates are Sydney Livingston and Danny DeCrescenzo. While Anniballi and Livingston are running individually, Fountain and DeCrescenzo are running as part of the same ticket.
“I decided to run for president when I was looking through the old yearbooks that we have up in the SGA office,” Anniballi said, a sophomore political science major. “I was flipping through them, and on one hand, I was a little bit saddened because the pictures show a really strong university pride where people were very proud to be Hofstra students. There was a great community bond around our traditions, and looking around campus today, you don’t really see that.”
Bringing back the yearbooks is a major component of Anniballi’s campaign. He envisions students being able to share their pride, and he hopes to create a space where students feel that SGA is a successful “advocating body.”
Pride in the university is an important component of all campaigns running in this year’s SGA election, in addition to supporting student concerns by improving communication between students, SGA and university administrators.
“It is important that SGA is helping clubs come up with ideas of how to raise funds if they were not allocated their desired amount of funds,” said Fountain, a sophomore dual degree physician assistant program student. “The last big thing I want to see in the allocations process under my administration is encouraging collaboration between clubs and organizations for events.”
Regardless of who wins the presidential title, Anniballi is glad that each campaign in this election has been engaging with the student body and making student government more visible to all students, so they “know who is in SGA and who to bring their concerns to.”
Both presidential candidates are dedicated to securing an 18th credit included in tuition, making the campus more eco-friendly and expanding the parking spaces available to commuting students.
A statement shared on the campaign Instagram account for Fountain and DeCrescenzo discussed the potential for building an underground parking garage to provide more options. The idea was brought to their attention by a student who had communicated with several university administrators researching the potential of an underground parking facility on campus.
“It is a wonderful idea to pursue, because an underground parking garage would not take away from the beauty of Hofstra’s campus, unlike an above-ground one,” DeCrescenzo, a junior audio and radio studies major, said.
Hofstra’s natural beauty and thriving campus community make it a unique space that feels like home to all students running in this year’s elections.
“My favorite part about Hofstra is that I can actually walk on the unispan and see five people I know,” Livingston, a sophomore business management major, said. “Then the next day, I see five more people I had no idea existed the day before.”
Prior to her run for vice president, Livingston took the time to write down critiques and concerns students have that need to be addressed by administrators and SGA, a list which has impacted the focus of her campaign.
“I’m really just doing this for the students,” Livingston said. “I have no interest in building up my resume through student government. My passion is advocacy, and I want the students to know that, win or lose, I’m actively trying to make a positive change on this campus.”
