Make Your Voice Heard: Undergraduate SGA Elections Underway

Undergraduate Student Government Association (SGA) elections are now underway. Undergraduate students can cast their votes at elections.gatech.edu. Polls close Thursday, March 16.

The candidates for president and executive vice president include Leanne Francis and Apollo Liu, Lizzie Lisenby and Connor Brogan, and Sujay Peramanu and Richard Wang.

Read on for more information about each team.

Leanne and Apollo

Third-year business administration major Leanne Francis currently serves as the joint vice president of campus organizations for SGA. Her running mate, third-year economics and international affairs major Apollo Liu has been the economics representative to the Undergraduate House of Representatives (UHR) for two years and has served on house leadership for both years.

“I decided to run for SGA president based on my conversations with students across campus," Francis said. "I have seen students with a wide range of opinions on their Georgia Tech experience. Together, Apollo and I have become extremely passionate about improving the Tech experience for each Yellow Jacket."

“Your Tech, Our Campus” is the slogan on which Francis and Liu have based their campaign. Their platform focuses on academics, well-being, careers, inclusivity, campus culture, safety, and communication.

Some of their goals for Tech students include limiting administrative conflicts, improving mental and physical well-being, and preparing for future careers. Some of their goals for the campus community include building a networking program to connect students across organizations, developing student organization resources, informing students of events that affect their safety, and centralizing communication across all campus channels.

The biggest goal of Francis and Liu’s campaign is to “protect and grow the Tech experience.” Francis said, “This involves each and every student and the overall Georgia Tech community. We hope students see that we want to look out for what they find valuable in their Tech experience and preserve that, while also growing the experience in areas that can be improved.”

Lizzie and Connor

Third-year business administration major Lizzie Lisenby is running with third-year industrial systems and engineering major Connor Brogan. Lisenby has served as the freshman and sophomore class representative, as well as a Student and Faculty Development Committee chair and Undergraduate Judiciary Cabinet justice.

“I chose to run for this position because of my desire to help people," Lisenby said. "At my core, I want Georgia Tech students to remember their Tech experience as positive and happy. I want them to graduate not only with a degree, but with a sense of purpose.”

Lisenby and Brogan’s platform slogan, “Community for All,” is displayed through four categories: community and inclusivity, political advocacy, transparency, and sustainable wellness.

Some of their goals are to support student organizations at Tech, communicate student opinion to the Georgia Tech administration and state government, use innovative social media strategies to encourage campuswide participation in SGA, and promote health and well-being.

Lisenby and Brogan’s major goal is to “enhance and enrich each person’s community at Tech by helping integrate student sects and simplify the communication process between campus organizations.”

“Overall, I think you can look at each part of our platform and trace it back to its original goal: To enrich the student experience and lead people to a happier and healthier time in college,” Lisenby said.

Sujay and Richard

Third-year industrial engineering major Sujay Peramanu is running with third-year computer science major Richard Wang. Peramanu is currently the vice president of Campus Services for SGA and Wang serves as chief officer of the legislative branch as speaker of the house.

Peramanu and Wang’s platform revolves around the phrase, “Lead the Way.” Their platform pillars include enhancing the student experience, promoting transparency and student engagement, engaging surrounding communities, going green, fostering campus diversity and inclusion, improving campus wellness, and advancing the state of academic affairs.

Some of their goals include working with Parking and Transportation Services to increase transparency between their team and students, increasing student engagement within UHR, promoting student volunteer efforts beyond campus, increasing recycling throughout campus, creating an interfaith center, and helping students deal with the academic rigor of Tech.  

Why Vote: From the Candidates

"This is your opportunity to voice your opinion in SGA elections. It is up to you, the student, to determine who you want to represent you to the faculty, staff, government, and to the community outside of Georgia Tech.” —Lizzie Lisenby

“Apollo and I encourage students to vote for any candidate that they would feel confident in representing them. We want students to have their voices heard. Regardless of who you vote for, this election provides students the opportunity to have their voices and opinions heard on the issues that they feel are important to their Tech experience.” — Leanne Francis

For more information on platform details, visit each candidate's website linked above.