Colin Humphries, a junior and the current Chair of the Undergraduate Experience Committee for the Student Government Association (SGA), and Dale Leone, a junior conduct advisor and senator for the SGA, have won the presidential election with 49.96 percent of the vote.
“Dale and I are both honoured to have been entrusted by the student body to represent them in the Student Government’s highest office. We are eager to get to work and deliver positive results for the students,” Humphries said in an email statement.
Freshman pair Kundayi Mazando and Meghan Welch, both new to SGA, took home 45.07 percent of the vote.
Felicity Oliveira, a junior marketing major and SGA office manager, was elected to be the University Student Trustee with 60.97 percent of the vote, beating out former SGA Associate Speaker Carol DeRose by 25 points.
“It is an honor to serve as your Trustee, and I am committed to representing UMASS with integrity and dedication,” said Oliveira on her campaign Instagram account.
2,956 students, or 12.7 percent of the student body participated in the presidential election in a substantial boost in turnout from the seven percent last election. A question polling satisfaction with SGA also showed positive signs, with only 18.8 percent of students giving SGA a one or two on a scale of one to five, where one indicates low satisfaction and five indicates high satisfaction. However, only eight percent gave SGA a five, and 22.5 percent said they didn’t know.
Despite these positive signs, only the Class of 2027 will have a full slate of senators going into the next year, with 22 of 30 seats for the Classes of 2026 and 2025 remaining unfilled due to a lack of candidates. These spots will have to be filled next year through an interview process. Familiarity with SGA programs were also low, with Registered Student Organizations (RSO) being the only program with familiarity above 15 percent.
Three referendum questions also passed, with one supporting the adoption of the Five Principles for Responsible Outdoor Lighting, and another advocating for “the complete cessation of special and exclusive financial relationships in the defense industry, from defense companies and military contractors.” The last allowed Massachusetts Student public Interest Research Group (MASSPIRG) to continue to be funded through a waivable eleven dollar fee on students’ tuition bills.
Two formal complaints were lodged against the ticket led by Humphries, both by the Mazando ticket. The first, which alleged that the candidates gave out candy to help convince voters, resulted in a formal warning from the Elections Commission. The second, accusing Humphries and Leone of “defamation in the form of private emails and social media posts,” was looked at and ruled to not be a case of defamation. Neither will affect the results of the election.
Daniel Frank can be reached at [email protected]
