With the upcoming elections, the Student Government candidates vouched for a better SGA for the upcoming semester. The leading contestants for the president elections include Yailine Cano, the current chair of the Campus Life Committee and Elio Armas-Rojo, the current PR chair for TechNews have promised to make SGA more approachable and represent student population better by bridging the gap between students and the authorities. With that being the topic for another day, I plan to present a list of updates by the student government in the spring 2025 semester. The Campus Life Committee held its club fair on February 10, 2025 where students shared valuable feedback on various aspects of campus life. Few topics covered in the event included suggestions for campus improvements, perspectives on Greek life, the importance of diversity within student organizations,and concerns related to campus safety. This input has helped the student government plan for their upcoming term by taking guided efforts to enhance the overall student experience.
A campus safety walk was organized by the Student Government Association and the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) in the following week after this. This collaborative effort aimed to enhance safety and ensure a more secure environment for all students.
Furthermore, on March 26, almost eleven new student organizations were reviewed and were officially approved. These new organizations reflect on the growing diversity of the student interests and campus engagement. The newly approved organizations includes:
- Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA)
- Algorithmic Club
- Sustainability and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Club
- Poker Club
- Mock Trial Club
- Ghanian Student Association
- Stuart Consulting Group
- Momentum Crew
- Illinois Asian American Civil Engineering (IAACE)
- Cultural Club
These organizations vouched to contribute to a more dynamic and inclusive campus community offering students expanded opportunities for involvement, leadership and connection. The spring semester also reincarnated the Food Advisory Board (FAB) co-led by Kyle Ochotorena and Erick Silva (one of the candidates running as a Vice President for the SGA elections this time) and led by Yailine Cano. The FAB holds their bi-weekly meetings to discuss about the campus dining services. These meetings are open to general students of Illinois Tech, with students compensated with a $15 voucher for those who offer their valuable suggestions. These coupons are redeemable at any of the on-campus dining location. The final two FAB meetings for this semester are scheduled for April 17 and May 1. Students who want to take a part in offering their insights can reach out to Yailine, Kyle or Erick through the email ID’s mentioned below
Coming to the activities of our engagement committee, the amazing Karaoke Night was the highlight of this semester as it drew a huge crowd of student population. It was held at the Bog with crazy vibes, food and music. Winner of the event was awarded with headphones (a model which I have personally used and fell in love with). Another event that personally held a big space in my heart was the Holi celebration which was conducted in the Man of the Bench park. The collab between SGA and the Indian Student Association (ISA) was a huge hit and peoples’ Instagram stories were filled with enthusiastic dancing.
The Research Affairs Committee had their Research Banquet on the April 11, 2025, which I personally attended and had an amazing time. Kicking off the ceremony with an amazing range of food that people genuinely enjoyed eating. Dr. Jeff Terry, the Vice Provost of Research, shared info about the new academic research and professional development programs that are likely going to be hosted during the summer. Dr. Maryam Saleh, the Executive Director of the Ed Kaplan Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship, spoke about her experience as an undergrad spending most of her time in research and how she built a team of engineers, scientists and marketing experts to pitch a product that their team developed during her undergrad days. Lucas Ferguson, the Cool Robotics and their team demonstrated a cool demo of all of the robots they built throughout the semester, giving attendees a full-on Tony Stark expo vibe. Furthermore, Dr. Keigo Kawaji introduced us to RezMatch, a platform where students can explore and join project pitches. The event fostered great connections and highlighted the diverse pathways available for students to engage in impactful research.
