Elections

2020 Student Election Declared Winners

A Message from the Declared Winners

Dear UIC students,

When we first came together in early February, we discussed our shared goal of engaging students in advocacy, which is best represented by our slogan: Together, For Us. We want to thank everyone that supported this goal and elected us into the positions of USG President, USG Vice President, and UIC Student Trustee. Thank you to our friends for playing a significant role in our late-night campaign meetings. Thank you to the students that gave us a few moments of their time to discuss our ideas at the library, a place that we never thought we would miss so dearly. Finally, thank you to the voters that supported our vision of working together to make our college experience better for us all.

We ran on the vision of accountability, community, and engagement. During the current crisis, these ideas are more important than ever. This is why we are committed to representing student voices and communicating student needs to the UIC administration. Our vision includes advocating for more direct and transparent responses regarding safety incidents, providing free hygiene products to students, and ensuring that students are well-connected to the appropriate mental health resources. While we acknowledge that there will be many new challenges emerging on campus, we are ready to take these changes in stride. We will be working closely with the UIC administration and student leaders to ensure that the adequate resources are provided to all of us so that we can continue to see our vibrant community grow and thrive, even from afar.

Finally, we would like to commend Nilansh Ankur Shah, Jocelyn Aranda-Ortiz, John C. Donners, and David W. Shipyor on their campaigns, as well as their commitment to advocacy. We look forward to working with them next year on advancing our shared initiatives. Once again, thank you to the voters that supported our vision and our mentors for believing in us. We look forward to working with you all.

Yours in Community,

Wasan Kumar, USG President-Elect

Hana Ahmed, USG Vice President-Elect

Jocelyn Bravo, UIC Student Trustee-Elect

Official Results

Candidate Position Total Votes
Jocelyn Bravo Student Member of the Board of Trustees 498 Declared Winner
John C. Donners Student Member of the Board of Trustees 430
David W. Shipyor Student Member of the Board of Trustees 69
Wasan Kumar President of the Undergraduate Student Government 732 Declared Winner
Nilansh Ankur Shah President of the Undergraduate Student Government 218
Hana Ahmed Vice-President of the Undergraduate Student Government 579 Declared Winner
Jocelyn Aranda-Ortiz Vice-President of the Undergraduate Student Government Withdrew Candidacy
Michelle Zhou Member of the House of Representatives of the Undergraduate Student Government 652
Bayan Hammad Member of the House of Representatives of the Undergraduate Student Government 606
Dahlya H. El-adawe Member of the House of Representatives of the Undergraduate Student Government 592
Samprithi Vilvasigamani Member of the House of Representatives of the Undergraduate Student Government 568
Isabel Calderon Undergraduate Student Member of the UIC Senate 773
Taylor Holmes Undergraduate Student Member of the UIC Senate 696

**IMPORTANT VOTING INFORMATION**

American flag colors, text: Your vote counts

Student Elections are right around the corner! The polls are set to open online at 9am April 7th and will close at 4pm on April 8th. Learn more about the candidates for each position by scrolling down! Positions on the ballot will include the following:

  • President of the Undergraduate Student Government (USG)
  • Vice-President of the Undergraduate Student Government (USG)
  • House of Representatives of the Undergraduate Student Government (USG)
  • Undergraduate Members of the UIC Senate
  • Student Member of the Board of Trustees

Voting will be conducted online via UIC Connection. If you are looking to vote in the student elections, make sure you have access to UIC Connection prior to placing your vote. You can do this by logging into UIC Connection and registering your account. Please note that you may be prompted to complete a profile prior to viewing the election ballot.; however, this can be bypassed and students do not need to complete a UIC Connection profile in order to place their votes. 

As a reminder, votes are collected anonymously and student’s identifying information will not be recorded when placing their votes.

The following information reflect voting guidelines and explains voting eligibility for each position on the ballot:

  • President, Vice-President, and House of Rep. positions of USG: Eligible voters include full time or part time undergraduate students in a degree-seeking program
  • Undergraduate Student Senator: Eligible voters include any full time or part time degree-seeking or non-degree seeking undergraduate student.
  • Student Member of the Board of Trustees: Eligible voters include any full time or part time degree-seeking or non-degree seeking student in any level of study (ie undergraduate, graduate, professional).

If you experience issues/concerns while voting please do not hesitate to contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 312-996-4857 or email Cynthia M. Rosales at crosal4@uic.edu.

Good luck to all of our candidates on the ballot and happy voting!

Meet the Candidates

2020-2021 Candidates

Names of the official candidates on the 2020-2021 Student Election ballot can be found here.

President

Wasan Kumar My name is Wasan Kumar and I’m running for President to unite: Voices for Accountability •Request direct and transparent responses to safety incidents •Require student input regarding campus policy changes and implementations Voices for Community •Improve accessibility to resources for student leaders •Create an Undocumented Student Resource Center and a Mindfulness Space Voices for Empowerment •Connect students to the appropriate mental health resources •Provide free hygiene products for menstruators. Running Mates: Hana Ahmed for Vice-President & Jocelyn Bravo for Student Trustee
Nilansh Ankur Shah As an actively involved student at the UIC student community, I take it as my responsibility to work with the UIC Undergraduate Student Government. It is going to be an immense pleasure to serve the student community who make our campus a college and a place to live. I, being a student, can identify and solve problems faced by the student. It will be my responsibility to stay honest and loyal to the position I am applying for and to the whole Student Community Of UIC.

Vice-President

Jocelyn Aranda-Ortiz Ad.vo.ca.cy - "The act or process of amplifying neglected causes, processes, and rights" Our platform Religion, Culture, Accessibility, Sexual Orientation and Identity. Increasing Representation in All Aspects. Listening and valdating student experiences. Prioritizing Student Safety on Campus. Expanding rest areas while higlighting current resources on campus. Improving Commuter Resources and Accessibility.
Hana Ahmed My name is Hana Ahmed and I’m running for Vice-President to unite: Voices for Accountability •Request direct and transparent responses to safety incidents •Require student input regarding campus policy changes and implementations Voices for Community •Improve accessibility to resources for student leaders •Create an Undocumented Student Resource Center and a Mindfulness Space Voices for Empowerment •Connect students to the appropriate mental health resources •Provide free hygiene products for menstruators. Running Mates: Wasan Kumar for President & Jocelyn Bravo for Student Trustee

House of Representatives

Dahlya H. El-adawe MY NAME IS DAHLYA H. EL-ADAWE, AND I AM RUNNING FOR THE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT GOVERNMENT’S HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. BELOW ARE THE PILLARS OF MY CAMPAIGN; Representation: All of the students at UIC are multi-faceted and intersectional. I am running to ensure that this university does not cater towards a specific facet of its students, and every student sees themselves reflected in the University. Inclusion: UIC boasts itself to be the most diverse campus in the nation. However, a diverse campus is not always an inclusive one. I want to work to be able to boast the campus’ inclusivity along with its diversity. Transparency: The students’ relationship with faculty and staff has always been a detached one. I hope to be able to make what the faculty and staff are doing to better the UIC campus transparent and attainable to all students.
Michelle Zhou My name is Michelle Zhou and I am seeking reelection as a USG Representative. As a representative, I aim to make UIC more accessible and inclusive for all students and prospective students, specifically through the implementation of open educational resources. Additionally, I hope to serve as a liaison between students and UIC faculty by advocating for students’ concerns, such as healthier/more inclusive options in the dining halls.
Samprithi Vilvasigamani I am running for undergraduate house of representatives of the undergraduate student government because I believe there is much about our University that can be changed to increase SAFETY, increase enrollment, solidify retention and dramatically increase the quality of life for both students and faculty alike. As the democratically elected voice of the students at UIC, it is the duty of the student representative to ensure that the thoughts, comments, and questions of the students are relentlessly expressed to the university as a whole. I believe I can meet the burden with confidence.
Bayan Hammad After being involved in USG for one year, I finallyrealized the impact that representatives could make oncampus and how important it is for us to representstudents faithfully and truthfully. As a representativeof students in the Undergradute Student Governmentat UIC, I am initiating a new project that is focused onbringing student organizations together andconnecting them with USG. I believe it is critical for students on campus to be connected with USG and learn about the kind of work that USG does. It is equally important for USG to create an effective network with student organizations and cultural centers on campus.Together, create welcoming spaces and open doors for communications on a campus that embraces diversity as a top quality!
David W. Shipyor If elected to the position of Student Trustee, I pledge to fully and faithfully represent all students from the Chicago campus on the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.
John C. Donners My vision for UIC is to bring students the amazing college experience and representation they deserve. I will fight for improved student safety, better mental resources, building improvements, better Wi-Fi, increased real world work experiences across majors, greater commuter resources, Greek life housing on campus, and a more fulfilling college experience overall. I will bring students a university experience that works for them!
Jocelyn Bravo My name is Jocelyn Bravo and I’m running for Student Trustee to unite: Voices for Accountability •Request direct and transparent responses to safety incidents •Require student input regarding campus policy changes and implementations Voices for Community •Improve accessibility to resources for student leaders •Create an Undocumented Student Resource Center and a Mindfulness Space Voices for Empowerment •Connect students to the appropriate mental health resources •Provide free hygiene products for menstruators. Running Mates: Hana Ahmed for Vice-President & Wasan Kumar for President

Isabel Calderon

Taylor Holmes

UPDATES

EPC: Elections Rules & Regulations

Student Election Documents

Here you can find the official student election timeline to stay up to date this election season. You can also find the link to the Nominating Signatures form as well as the Certificate of Academic Eligibility. Lastly, for students who would like to submit a referendum for the ballot, information can be found here.