Marley Pinsky - Presidential Candidate
Hi! My name is Marley Pinsky (she/her) and I’m ENTHUSED to be running for your SGB President.
I’m sure you all don’t want to read all of this, and I’d much rather talk to you personally. Feel free to learn more about my campaign at @h2pinskybudike on Instagram, or email me with concerns/ideas/music recs at mep241@pitt.edu.
I’m a sophomore at Pitt studying Urban Planning and Politics-Philosophy with a minor in Spanish. I currently serve as SGB’s Community and Governmental Relations Chair, as well as the Renters First Ad-Hoc Vice Chair. Through these positions, I’ve hosted renters’ rights workshops, surveyed students about their housing experiences, and planned SGB’s largest event, Election Fest.
Outside of SGB, I’m involved on campus as an RA and work for the Honors College’s Office of Community Engaged Learning, where I help coordinate partnerships between Pitt and local nonprofits. In my free time, I love exploring the city with friends, seeing local music, and playing fiddle with my band, Madeline Jo & Friends.
I initially had no interest in running for President, but I caught myself complaining about SGB so much that I figured I should do something instead of just yap. SGB has been too insulated and has not tapped into its advocacy potential. I want to run to challenge admin to prioritize students over profits, to use SGB’s platform to uplift student concerns and defend student activists from repression, and to make SGB more accessible and democratic.
As SGB President, I will…
Make affordable student housing a non-negotiable.
- Advocate for the prioritization of affordable, centrally located student housing in new construction
- Protect student renters from predatory landlords by spreading renters’ rights info and keeping a University database of off-campus housing options
Defend diversity, equity, and inclusion on campus.
- Work closely with identity-based student organizations and SGB’s DEI Committee to provide programming that celebrates diversity and responds to the concerns of minoritized students.
- Advocate for increased enrollment of underrepresented students by demanding the University to utilize more of its $5.5 billion endowment to expand scholarships.
Defend student activists’ First Amendment rights
- Use SGB’s platform to uplift the concerns of student protestors and condemn acts of repression by administration when they occur
- Collaborate with student leaders, faculty, and administration to reform the Student Code of Conduct adjudication process to ensure students’ First Amendment rights are not compromised
Challenge corporate-run university hierarchy by advocating for a student voting member of the Board of Trustees
- Follow the example of 6 other ACC schools in allowing a student leader to serve as a voting Student Trustee
- Uplift student voice and power in decision-making around Pitt’s budget, investments, future development, and more
Fight for a more sustainable Pitt.
- Embrace sustainability at future SGB events by minimizing waste as much as possible.
- Push the University to make a genuine and accountable commitment to eliminating single-use plastics
I know this is a lot, and I won’t be able to do it all on my own. That’s why I want to collaborate with student organizations throughout all of my initiatives to maximize effectiveness and engagement. I’ve already done this by consulting with students, clubs, and faculty to help me identify Pitt’s problems and solutions when developing this platform.
My favorite part about campaigning has been getting an excuse to talk to strangers and meet so many amazing Pitt students, and I hope that as President, I can continue being accessible and approachable to the campus community. I will do this intentionally by having weekly tabling sessions and participating in various campus events (which I already do; I’m heavily involved on campus and proud). SGB could be so much more than it currently is; it just needs someone chalant enough to make it happen. I volunteer as tribute. Please help me make Pitt a better place by voting Pinsky-Budike!
Olivia Budike - Vice Presidential Candidate
Hi, my name is Olivia Budike (she/her), and I’m so excited to be running for Vice President of the Student Government Board on the H2PinskyBudike ticket! I’m a Pre-Law Political Science major with a minor in Economics. I’m from outside Philly (like every other student, Go Birds). I serve as the Campus Operations and Innovation Chair in SGB. I’ve hosted the Fall Safety Fair and collaborated with Pitt Transportation to make improvements to SafeRiders. I’m involved with Students Conquering Cold Cases, Cinema Club, and I conduct research on sexual harassment in political engagement. Currently, I’m working on campus accessibility, restocking hygiene products in bathrooms, and campus safety. I’m running for Vice President to uplift student voices and create a safer and more inclusive campus!
Basic Needs Approach!
The first initiative I feel very strongly about is ensuring that all students have their basic needs met. There is a need for hygiene products in bathrooms across all campus academic buildings, and they must be consistently restocked. After engaging with students both in and out of SGB, I’ve found that this is not done to the standards that are needed. I’ve talked with students about the lack of hygiene products and spoken to many different organizations. As Vice President, I hope to push this initiative to all campus living and common areas. I also hope to advocate for residential buildings to secure funding for Resident Advisors (RAs) to distribute hygiene products.
Another basic need is affordable meals. There is a need for more resources within student organizations that provide this service. I’ll advocate for more funding and exhaust all possible additional resources to support this effort. This also ties into ensuring that undergraduate university workers are being paid properly because affordable meals are a basic need!
Another need from students is affordable school materials such as
textbooks. This should already be a standard, but unfortunately, it is not. I once had a required textbook for a class that cost $1,000...for a used version! I hope to help secure funds and support school organizations in ensuring that all professors provide affordable materials.
Fighting for a Safer Campus!
Another initiative is to fight for a safer campus. I will collaborate with campus organizations focused on sexual assault prevention and support to secure internal funding and promote resources such as self-defense training and Narcan training. As of right now, there are only two prevention resource lockers at Pitt(in the Cathedral and WPU). I’ll work to expand access to fentanyl test strips and increase the availability of Narcan and Narcan training. I plan to add drink test kits to these resource lockers. With SGB and other organizations I’ll expand safety resources to residential areas. Also, combating street harassment and hate speech is unfortunately still necessary. We need a student code that protects students, and funding must be allocated to campus organizations that fight these issues.
Improving Transportation!
Transportation is also an initiative that I highly value. I have worked with Pitt Transportation to improve SafeRider by advocating for lights and clear signage on all vans. We’ve also discussed and planned alterations to Port Authority buses to assist Pitt students with getting around Pittsburgh. With ongoing construction, we are emphasizing the importance of pedestrian safety! I’m also supporting and contributing to work on expanding POGOHs around the South Oakland area and Upper Campus. Additionally, I’m collaborating with organizations to address pedestrian and bike safety. Biking around campus is something I enjoy, and I’ll advocate to expand and emphasize bike safety while supporting sustainability initiatives on Pitt’s campus. As SGB Vice President, I’ll advocate to allocate more resources to expand POGOHs and continue to advocate for bus timing and locations to be updated more frequently.
Supporting Student Workers!
I plan to reinstate the Pitt Workers United Ad-Hoc Committee to fight for fair wages and benefits for all student workers, whether they are research assistants, WPU workers, or employees at other campus facilities. I will also establish feedback channels for student workers to voice concerns and receive support regarding their workplace environments. As a student worker and someone who has served on the Pitt Workers Union Committee (dissolved last year), this is something very important to me. Ensuring that student workers are fairly compensated plays a crucial role in helping them afford their basic needs!
Defending Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Funding!
Marley and I plan to work closely with cultural student organizations, and the DEI Committee to provide programming that celebrates diversity and responds to concerns from marginalized students. I also plan to advocate for increased enrollment of underrepresented students by demanding that the University use more of its $5.5 billion endowment to expand scholarships.
Marley and I are running for you! I’m always open to new ideas, discussions, or complaints about campus life, so please don’t hesitate to reach out at ojb@pitt.edu.
Thank you, and Hail to Pitt!