hammekea@lopers.unk.edu
Running unopposed, Temo Molina and Ethan Ciancio won Thursday’s election for Student Body President/Student Regent and Student Body Vice President. Molina and Ciancio will take over for the current officeholders, Emily Saadi and Zach Zavodny.
Molina and Ciancio are joined by Noah Shackelford as Chief of Staff and Olivia Lawless as Secretary of the Treasury.
“We chose our cabinet members carefully, and we felt that they could do the best job for the student body in their respective positions,” Molina said at Tuesday’s candidate open forum.
Molina and Ciancio’s planform, entitled “Building UNK” has three main pillars. The cabinet looks to improve communication with students, expand mental health resources on campus and increase ways to receive student feedback.
This year’s unopposed election was a stark contrast from last year’s election which extended into a runoff. Three candidates sought the position of student body president, with Landon Seibert and Jocelyn Rauert eliminated in the preliminary election. Saadi and Zavodny defeated Aidan Weidner and Olivia Koenig in a runoff election. All three campaigns had a full cabinet announced in their campaigning.
Two cabinet positions were not listed in Molina and Ciancio’s campaigning. The secretary for organizations and affairs, currently filled by Earlen Guiterrez, and secretary for community relations, currently filled by Allie Daro, were unfilled.
Another difference in this year’s campaign is student government experience. All six of last year’s presidential or vice presidential nominees were serving in student government, while Ciancio is not currently a part of the student senate.
Although he is not formally a member of student government, Ciancio is aware of parliamentary procedure and has attended meetings this semester.
“It is going to be a little bit of a learning curve for me to get into that position,” Ciancio said. “One thing that I have always been a good supporter about myself is my adaptability. Even if I know that it is going to be a rough first week, I know I’ll be able to jump right into it after that.”
Alongside filling cabinet vacancies, one of the first goals for Molina and Ciancio is filling senate vacancies. The Student Senate elections, which took place simultaneously with the presidential election, have seats in all positions to be filled. Shackelford and Lawless were elected to senate seats in their respective colleges, and both would vacate their senate seats if their cabinet positions are approved. The University College and graduate non-degree representatives did not have any candidates running for the election.
Molina and Ciancio will take office on April 18, with their inauguration in the Ponderosa Room of the Nebraskan Student Union from 6-8 p.m.
