Mercy Akanmu- Presidential Candidate
Hi! I am Mercy Akanmu, and I'm running to be the next Student Government Board President for 2025-26 on the Forward Ticket. I am a sophomore double majoring in Neuroscience and History/ Philosophy of Science on the pre-med track, and I am from Blacksburg, Virginia!Here are the reasons why I am running to be YOUR next SGB President:
1. to increase the amount of money SGB gives to clubs. One common frustration with SGB is the lack of funding many clubs experience, such as being unable to get money for programs that matter to us as students on campus. Evan and I have heard from you about the debt clubs have acquired to fund their events, because they couldn’t get money from SGB. We plan to fix this by getting more money from the University to give to students, and working more closely with the allocations committee so that SGB won’t have to reject your requests for amazing events on campus.
2. to boost the enrollment rates of minority students at Pitt. Each year, the number of minority students who enroll at Pitt reduces - lending to the feeling of isolation among these individuals. As an SGB Board member, I have been working with the university to create programs that will aid in increasing these numbers, including hosting info sessions on the realities of Pitt life as a minority. As President, I will expand these programs to reach a larger audience and incorporate more student involvement.
3. to create more opportunities for students to engage with administrators and faculty. Making Pitt a safer and more inclusive campus for students has been my main priority. I believe in increasing interactions with administrators and making processes about our education more open. To do this, Evan and I are creating the following programs (that I will expand upon as President): gen-ed town hall, discourse, and dialogue town halls. The town halls give us as students the means to talk to the administration about topics that concern us, including the future of gen-eds, and current social conflicts on campus. I have leadership and social experience that uniquely prepares me for this position:
1. serving as a board member in SGB for 2024-2025. Being President of SGB means being the backbone for Pitt Students. Each year, the president focuses on one or two major projects but spends most of their time speaking to and for Pitt students in meetings with the administration. The President does not do much initiative work, and I recognize this. While one or two initiatives fit into this role, the main objective of the President is to advocate for and represent the diverse concerns of the student body, support the board members (who do the initiative work), and allocate funds to organizations. Due to my involvement on board, I understand the realities of this position and will use this to hit the ground running - no time wasted because I know what this role calls for.
2. I am an active member of the Pitt community. I am in many academic and social clubs on campus, meaning that I am not just a random student you haven’t met before! I will always be accessible; just look for me in one of your club meetings!
I am honored to be able to run with Evan to be your next Student Government Board President and Vice President, and am so excited to work with you all next year! I believe that we all have a part to play in making Pitt a school we are happy to be at, and I am looking forward to working with you all next year.
Vote for me and Evan Levasseur to be your next SGB President and Vice President! Together, we can move forward into a more accessible and inclusive future at Pitt!
Evan Levasseur- Vice Presidential Candidate
Hey! My name is Evan Levasseur, and I am super excited to be running as your 2025-2026 Student Government Vice President on the Forward Ticket! I am a sophomore majoring in Molecular Biology and pursuing minors in Spanish and Global Health.
I am originally from Baltimore, Maryland where I love crabs and Old Bay! I really want to use my position as VP to help elevate you as a student, so I will be addressing these three main initiatives:
1. Continue my relationship with Pitt Eats, Eatery, and Chartwells. Throughout this past year on board, my main initiative has been improving the food quality and safety of the Eatery. In the very beginning of the year, I, along with otherWellness members, met with Chartwells staff to discuss food safety and diversity and bring up the issues students were having with the Eatery. This initiative brought immediate change and has been a hugely positive force on the Pitt campus. We have promoted food safety in the Eatery and ensured that students can feel comfortable eating their daily meals in the Eatery. This initiative is still ongoing as we meet monthly with the Pitt Eats/Chartwells staff to continue eliminating problems in campus dining.
2. Introduce the Anti-Hate Ad-Hoc committee again and continue my work from this year in reducing discriminatory acts on campus and providing a safe space for students. The anti-hate Ad-Hoc is a newly established committee that I just introduced into SGB this past semester. The mission of this Ad-Hoc committee is to create and maintain an inclusive campus environment free from acts of physical and verbal violence. Through this committee, I aim to create a space where students of all backgrounds have a designated place to bring up their problems to SGB. Since we have the privilege of working with administration, I want to use this position to help students facing discriminatory acts. Additionally, the scope of this committee will be intentionally broad to ensure versatility in addressing pressing issues as they arise. By leaving the committee broad, we can address any type of topical issue existing at the University no matter what the scale. This is extremely important for the safety of students at Pitt and a necessary issue to continue addressing.
3. Improve allocations spending by expanding the allocations budget to ensure all 800+ student organizations can receive the funding they deserve. Allocations funding is a very real problem. For over 10 years, the money that the allocations committee receives every year has been stuck at $900,000. Although this is an absurd amount of money, it does not adequately support the over 800+ student organizations at Pitt. Mercy and I are acutely aware of this problem and are aiming to expand this fund and finally secure a larger portion of the Student Activities Fund. Having more money will allow SGB to directly give this money back to students. With more money, SGB won’t have to work through such a tight manual, we will instead be able to give student orgs more money like they deserve.
Why vote for me though? Being an Executive Board Member in the 2024-2025 academic year has been an extremely formative time for me as a leader in SGB. Mainly, I have become very familiar and comfortable with the allocations manual and process in general. Allocations is such an important aspect of SGB, and my time on board has truly developed the skills needed to lead others through this process next year.
On top of knowing the allocations process, I recognize that my role is to support the Board’s initiatives all year long. The Vice President does not do much initiative work, and I recognize this. Since I was a board member and worked closely with our current VP, I have gotten to truly understand the job of the VP. I understand that this supportive role attends a lot of meetings with advisors, manages the internal funds of SGB, runs the Office of the VP meetings, and co-chairs the Assembly. These roles are very important for SGB functioning properly, and I am confident I will be able to fulfill this important role for the good of all Pitt students.
I am genuinely so excited to run for this position with the amazingly talented Mercy and I cannot wait for the next year! Thank you so much for your time and consideration voting for me and Mercy.
Please vote for me and Mercy Akanmu to be your next SGB President and Vice President! Together, we can move forward into a more accessible and inclusive future at Pitt!