Students Elect New Campus Leaders

April brings final tests and quizzes before wrapping up the semester, as well as newly elected officers for many student organizations, including the Student Government Association (SGA).

Students last week elected Eran Mordel and Amit Khanduri as undergraduate president and executive vice president, and Michael Kirka and Gareth Guvanasen as graduate president and executive vice president. Undergraduate representatives from various departments across campus were also elected for next year, with their graduate counterparts being elected in the fall.

SGA is comprised of two houses: the Undergraduate House of Representatives and the Graduate Student Senate. Together, the houses affect many facets of student life.

“SGA is critical for influencing Institute policy and reflecting students' views to the administration, facilitating student organizations' funding and promoting collaboration, but, most importantly, being the advocate of the student body in both urgent and long-term strategic plans,” said Mordel, a fourth-year industrial systems and engineering major.

Khanduri, a fourth-year business administration major, adds that Georgia Tech’s SGA is in a unique position with an approximately $5 million budget to allocate to student groups and campus departments.

“This, along with the committees we serve on, makes GT SGA one of the most autonomous among [its] peer institutions,” Khanduri said. “It's all about the students' potential and responsibility that the administration has entrusted us with.”

Guvanasen, a doctoral candidate in electrical and computer engineering, said he ran for the position of executive vice president because he wanted to improve events that foster collaboration across research fields, such as the Graduate Career Symposium and the Georgia Tech Research and Innovation Conference, as well as make progress towards currently existing projects.

“Our Graduate Student Government has made great progress towards acquiring a new health insurance plan for its graduate students that should provide greater benefits at lower cost,” said Guvanasen. “I look forward to working with others to see this project through to completion.”

Executive cabinet positions will be filled through an application and interview process conducted by the newly elected president and executive vice president in each house.