Aviral Gupta, a newly-elected Tampa Campus Senator, said being a leader in Student Government (SG) means representing his classmates’ voices.

Before moving from India to the U.S. this year, Gupta had previous SG experience and served as head boy in his high school.

“We have a student government that represents the student body,” Gupta said. “Your voices matter, and we want to make you heard.”

The unofficial Midterm Election results were released on Thursday but have not been certified at the time of publication.

Related: USF SG announces midterm election results following delay – The Oracle

The following students were elected to the Tampa Campus Senate: Aviral Gupta, Sai Akhil Pardarthi and Shivam Doultani. 

Gupta received a total of 662 votes, Padarthi amassed 576 and Doultani collected 275.

Those elected to the Tampa Campus Council are Lucio Bagulho, Sobhan Faisal, Michelle Reyngold and Farah Abdulrahman.

Since the St. Pete Campus Council and the Sarasota-Manatee Campus Council candidates ran uncontested, all students won the available seats.

The St. Pete Campus Council winners were Josephine Combs (90 votes), Junabel Paciencia (75), Camden Bedinghaus (62), Brian Quero (60) and Charles Daine (58). Oskar Mailaender-Garcia won the Sarasota-Manatee Campus Council with 41 votes. 

Related: USF SG midterm campaigning delayed due to Helene, Milton – The Oracle

Listed beneath the election results, it is shown the proposed Constitutional Amendment to Article IV, Section VII was approved.

Newly-elected Senator Sai Akhil Padarthi, an international freshman student, said more Tampa students apply to be a justice and there are fewer applicants from the Sarasota-Manatee and St. Pete campuses. 

With the newly-approved amendment, Tampa applicants could serve as the justice for the Sarasota-Manatee and St. Pete campuses.

A justice participates in the decision-making for all Judicial branch meetings, parking appeals, and any other cases that may come before the SG Supreme Court. 

Both Gupta and Padarthi said the official midterm results will be released once all issues and complaints with the current SG members are resolved.

Related: USF Student Government uncertified 2024 election results – The Oracle

What issues will the new officials prioritize? 

Padarthi said the main issue students are facing on campus is parking.

“There’s a lot of space on campus, but there is just not enough,” Padarthi said. “Parking is our major issue right now.”

Gupta noted many commuter students miss classes due to parking issues and mentioned a new potential SG initiative to address it.

“There is a new application being discussed that would allow students to check for availability on parking, it would allow you to book a time slot through a sponsored code,” he said.

Another issue he’ll prioritize is extending Bull Runner hours, adding shifts to give students more transportation options, Gupta said.

Padarthi said he will also tackle meal plan rate increases by pushing for a bill to prevent future increases by working with housing committees.

Lucio Bagulho, a first-year USF student and newly-elected council member, said he believes a lack of transparency is a more prominent issue that causes frustration within the student body.

Bagulho said he believes clubs that benefit the school and attract new students should receive more funding.

Funding for student organizations comes from Activity & Service fees. This is a $7 flat and $12.08 per credit hour fee in students’ tuitions. 

The distribution of the money is prepared by the Campus Allocation Funding Committee. Then, the budget is approved by the Activity and Service Recommendation Committee.

“USF is letting its students down by not being forthright,” Bagulho said. “USF students are here because they want to learn and pursue a degree that will help them later in life. USF right now is not reflecting an image that, at least in my eyes, fosters student success.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story said the new SG officials were appointed.