In an email sent on Sunday, Oct. 15, the Colgate University Student Government Association (SGA) announced that sophomore Harshitha Talasila was elected Vice President. Voting began on Friday, Oct. 13, and closed on Saturday, Oct. 14. Talasila was one of three candidates.
“I was excited and honored to be elected,” Talasila said. “I knew going into it that it was going to be a competitive election as all the candidates were amazing, so I am honored to have been elected.”
Talasila is the first sophomore to be elected SGA vice president. She shared some of her goals, highlighting the importance of communication.
“Going forward, I hope to create more points of communication between SGA and the student body,” Talasila said. “Emails and social media are important, but I want to go further and have events where the student body and SGA can come together to not only talk about issues the student body may be facing but to also facilitate more connections.”
Talasila also has goals to promote accessibility on campus.
“Regarding accessibility, I am interested in improving communication between cruiser services and the student body, so students know ahead of time if a route is canceled.”
Talasila continued to say she wanted to see greater accessibility in the dining options and restrooms on campus.
“Our dining services are great and consistently looking for ways to improve in order to better suit the student body’s needs. I hope to look into expanding vegan and vegetarian options that would help many students seeking alternatives,” Talasila said. “I also want to look into increasing the availability of gender-neutral restrooms by adding more restrooms on campus so students will not have to go out of their way to find a restroom.”
Talasila explained her focus on sustainability, additionally noting that she plans to work with the Office of Sustainability.
“I’m hoping to increase composting options and hopefully begin the process of implementing a large-scale food waste program,” Talasila said.
Talasila thanked the community for the opportunity and is excited to assume the position.
“Thank you to everyone for your support,” Talasila said. “I hope that moving forward, we can create the change we want to see on campus.”
