Meet the NISG presidential candidates

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CALEB STEKL, Staff Writer

Northern Iowa Student Government (NISG) campaigning officially kicked off on Monday, Feb. 12. So far, three presidential campaigns have officially registered as student organizations and are eligible to actively campaign. The three tickets for president and vice-president are featured here in no particular order.

Drew Stensland

and Kristen Ahart

Drew Stensland and Kristen Ahart are running as Drew and Kristen for UNI. Stensland is a junior political science and public administration double major. He is currently serving in NISG as a senator representing the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Speaker of the Senate. Stensland is also a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. Ahart is a junior, majoring in English education and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Ahart serves as a senator in NISG representing the College of Humanities, Arts and Sciences and is also the Chairwoman of the Organization and Finance Committee. Ahart is the current president of the Lettuce Club.

“Our campaign is based on three pillars that will improve the experience at UNI for both current and future students,” Stensland and Ahart said in a statement. “While continuing to support current NISG initiatives, we will emphasize on creating a sound structure for student support, student community, and student communication. These three areas are all equally important, containing a range of ideas that address mental health, diversity, conduct/disciplinary resources, partnerships within the Cedar Valley, and publicly recognizing exceptional UNI faculty and staff. All tickets running have great ideas, but what separates us from the rest is our determination to accomplish our original ideas while continuing to build off of last years’ milestones made within NISG.”

Seán Dugan

and Chad Schafer

Seán Dugan and Chad Schafer are running as Sean and Chad UNIted for Change. Dugan is a senior business administration major, the president of Panther eSports and helped establish Panther Tabletop Gaming. Schafer is a junior social science education major and is the treasurer of both Panther eSports and the Financial Literacy Club.

“Seán and Chad’s platform incorporates their experiences from student organizations, student life and residence life,” Dugan and Schafer said in a statement. “Their main focus is student engagement. Their plan for engaging the students is an incentivized collaboration program to help organizers increase the scope of campus programs, utilizing resources provided by community organizations to create a more diverse and inclusive campus, and to work closely with the counseling center to change the stigma on mental health and to revitalize the student support groups with a modern twist.”

Tristan Bernhard

and Cole Malcolm

Tristan Bernhard and Cole Malcolm are running as Tristan and Cole for UNI. Bernhard is a junior social science teaching and political science double major. He is the current Vice-President of NISG and has served for three years in NISG. Malcolm is a junior economics and mathematics double major. He is the current vice-president of the Economics Club and is captain for the basketball pep band.

“Tristan and Cole are seeking to utilize their extensive campus leadership experience and familiarity of the legislative and campus climate to make UNI the best it can possibly be,” Bernhard and Malcolm said in a statement. “In doing so, TC4UNI hopes to address pressing issues like having a legislative presence, revising the LAC to allow for greater student flexibility, addressing rampant and unsustainable textbook costs, creating an on-campus food pantry, implementation of diversity education initiatives and better advertising and outreach for vital campus resources. For specifics on these initiatives that Tristan and Cole have already begun work on and more, visit their website TC4UNI.com! Go Cats!”