Daytona State’s Student Government Association is slated to have an unusually active semester this Spring. Not only will they be handling their usual responsibilities of presenting issues to the school’s administration on behalf of the student body and organizing events on the various regional campuses, but they will also be holding not only one, but two elections this spring.
Former President Adrianne Toles-Williams officially resigned from her position in the fall. Because the annual general elections are not held until the end of the spring semester, this prompted a special election to be held at the beginning of the semester to decide who would hold the presidency for the remainder of this term.
For the presidential race, former vice president and current interim president, Jose Lopez, ran against current executive secretary, Gael Vitalien.
Jose Lopez, 24, is currently pursing his AS degree in Paralegal Studies. He discovered DSC’s SGA when a former officer had a table set up on the Deltona campus.
Lopez considers himself “motivated, community oriented, and forward-thinking” and wants to “improve the student experience by collaborating with more departments and better including satellite campuses.” He plans to pursue a BS in Paralegal Science after his associate’s and eventually go on to law school.
Gael Vitalien, 18, is currently pursuing an AA degree and plans to pursue a BAS in Healthcare Management. She spent four years as a non-officer member of the SGA at her high school and sought out student government once she got to college, wanting to be more involved in the decision-making process.
Vitalien believes she is the right choice for president because of her “passion” and her “ability to follow through and get things done.”
Voting for the special elections was held online and closed February 8th at 12am. Information about the results should be released the week of the 14th.
SGA also used the special election to attempt to fill vacancies for other officer positions, including vice president positions for some of the satellite campuses.If you’re interested in getting involved in DSC’s SGA, or if you just want to know more about it, they hold meetings every Tuesday from 1:30pm to 2:30pm in the L. Gale Lemerand Student Center (building 115), room 218K.
Tim Blalock
Editor-in-chief