Izzy Fanucci and Elena Ivanova, student government executive alliance candidates, both hope to “recreate” some parts of UT’s campus and the way student government is viewed through their campaign.
Because many student government initiatives take longer than a single year to implement, Fanucci, a speech pathology and psychology junior, said they want to continue the work from previous leadership, such as extending Thanksgiving break and reinstating the Texas A&M rivalry game.
“If an administration does not agree with certain changes that the executive alliance wants to make, they will try and wait out that student’s position,” Fanucci said. “In the event that we are elected, just because we are new in office doesn’t mean those issues will disappear.”
Along with continuation of previous efforts, Ivanova, a Plan II junior and the current vice president of the Senate of College Councils, said they are passionate about preventing sexual assault because of their work with Not On My Campus. One way they want to achieve this is by increasing the number of confidential advocates students can speak with on campus.
“There are 50,000 students on campus and currently only two people on campus that are properly trained,” Fanucci said. “That’s not acceptable. You can’t have two people for a population where 15 percent of women report experiencing rape.”
Fanucci and Ivanova’s platform includes expanding the Counseling and Mental Health Center services to include virtual counseling. Their campaign platform also centers around peer inclusion efforts, such as adding gender-inclusive bathrooms to more buildings on campus and creating an easier way for students to change their names online in the UT system.
In order to increase accessibility on campus, the duo would also like to see changes from the 2013 Campus Master Plan implemented near the East Mall fountain.
“Currently, that is one of the most inaccessible parts of campus because it is so steep,” Fanucci said. “Why would you have this unused fountain there when you can help increase the accessibility to the heart of campus?”
Throughout the campaign process, Ivanova said they hope to change the stereotype surrounding dirty politics and student government elections.
“We want to make this campaign about our platform,” Ivanova said. “We are here to talk about the issues and the changes that we want to make. It’s not about us.”
