On April 10 and 11, the Consolidated Students of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (CSUN) held its annual election for president, vice president and senator president.
The two parties on the ballot were UNLV Renaissance and UNLV Together. Renaissance included Allister Dias, Sayla Daily and Christian Abbo. UNLV Together included Mia Hernandez, Rayan Muneer and Mateo Portelli.
Renaissance ran with a complete restructuring in mind that would reinvent how CSUN is represented on campus and what values it espouses.
“A renaissance, by definition, is a ‘complete change of something,’ so we decided that would represent our ticket,” said Dias, president of the Renaissance party. “Our goal is to restructure CSUN entirely and usher in a new era.”
UNLV Together ran with a similar goal in mind, but their motivating factor was the changes that needed to be made after the Dec. 6 shooting.
Portelli emphasized that their “platform was designed around three key pillars: expanding and reforming funding for student organizations, addressing campus parking issues and enhancing inclusivity and access to healing resources.” Essentially, Portelli stated that UNLV Together’s goal “aimed to shift the culture of our student government towards being more student-focused.”
Preparation for the election was a long process that included sequential steps that had to be taken in order to move forward.
“The first thing you had to do was file a ticket, which takes some time to gain approval,” Dias mentioned. “You then had to scope out people interested in running with you, print hundreds of flyers and reach out to friends and organizations to gain support.”
“Our preparation for the election involved thorough engagement with our peers, including dialogues with both part-time and full-time undergraduates, as well as alumni,” Portelli stated while describing their side of the CSUN election preparation.
After voting, UNLV Renaissance obtained 374 votes (49.66% of overall voters), UNLV Together obtained 341 votes (45.28% of overall voters) and 34 voters (5.04%) voted for neither party.
With a victory secured, Dias reflected on next steps for UNLV Renaissance moving into the fall semester.
“Our upcoming goals focus primarily on funding, transparency and social advocacy,” Dias stated. “When students apply for funding, there is a long waiting period that is unfair to students, so we will work to make things more efficient. We also want to be as transparent as possible because a lot of students don’t know what CSUN does or what CSUN even is. Finally, we want to make it easier for students to advocate for things that are important to them.”
Although UNLV Together didn’t reach the outcome they hoped for, Portelli expressed satisfaction with the run UNLV Together had: “I was and am overjoyed to have been a UNLV Together candidate; I’m glad that I ran with Hernandez and Muneer to represent our fellow Rebels.” Portelli also wished Dias and his fellow Renaissance executive board officers the best as UNLV enters the next academic year.
Dias will be sworn in as CSUN Student Body President at the end of April. To connect with Dias and his party, follow CSUN Renaissance on Instagram @csun_rennaisance. For more information on UNLV Together, you can check out their Instagram @UNLVTogether.
