Voting Officially Opened for Senate Elections
On Monday afternoon, Student Government officially opened voting for the Fall 2026 Senate election.
UTICA – SUNY POLY. The Student Government Election Committee sent out a campus announcement email on Monday afternoon, officially opening voting for the Fall 2026 Senate election. There are ten students running for Senator, although due to the division of Senate seats by class year, at most eight will be elected.
There are three Senate seats for each class year – freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, and graduate – totaling a fifteen member Senate. In order for the election to end, at least five percent of the student body – approximately 150 students – must cast a vote. Voting is expected to conclude this Thursday, October 1st, provided that the minimum threshold has been reached.
Brief descriptions of each candidate, sourced from each student’s biography listed on their ballots, have been provided below.
Freshman Senator
There are only two students running for Freshman Senator, Snayder Vargas and Fila Sovis. Snayder described himself as someone who loves volleyball and “..talk[ing] with people, I like hearing different perspectives on things because that's how people I personally feel evolve – by combining ideas and understanding each other.”
Fila, a first-year majoring in Biology with aspirations to become a forensic psychiatrist, stated in her biography that she “..hope[s] to be a leader and role model for other students and advocate for them and be someone they can look up to and trust and be inspired by.”
Sophomore Senator
The race for Sophomore Senator is considerably more crowded, with five students competing for the three available seats. Two of them, Matthew Rose and Adem Kapo, served as Freshman Senators last year and currently sit in the Senate. The other three candidates running are Danish Paul, Emili Petrovski, and Zoe Pieri.
Senator Rose, a sophomore studying Computer Science, referred back to his service last year, mentioning “..I was an active senator, as well as the head of the Food Committee. I passed student feedback along to the highest Aramark representatives and wrote a resolution to get a new dishwasher in the CC.”
Senator Kapo, a Mechanical Engineering student, did not address his time as Freshman Senator, introducing himself in his biography only as “..a mechanical engineer sophomore and apart of soccer club, robotics, and MSA.”
Danish Paul is majoring in Biology. Within their biography, they mentioned experience they gained as a Boy Scout. Danish also mentioned that they are “..the oldest sibling in my family so I am used to taking control and voicing my opinion.” Danish concluded their biography by stating “I am ready and excited to run for senate and make this campus a better place for all students.”
Emili Petrovski is studying Business Administration, with an interest of pursuing marketing in the future. In their biography, Emili added “I enjoy working with others and getting involved on campus.”
Zoe Pieri is a sophomore majoring in Biology, with this year being their first here at SUNY Poly. Their biography mentioned their extracurricular leadership in high school, “...including being my class's vice president for two years, Student Council's vice president for two years, founder of the Red Cross Club, and PR for my school's Positivity Project.” Zoe added that they “..like to work with other students to create fun events and a safe environment for all students to feel included.”
Junior Senator
For the three Junior Senator seats available, only two students are competing – Seerat Fatima, and Michael Mulvaney. Seerat Fatima briefly served as an acting Senator last spring semester, serving from the end of March until mid-April.
Michael, a junior Mechanical Engineering student, is new to Student Government, stating within his biography that he hopes “..to join the senate to introduce fresh ideas and better student body life here at SUNY Poly through communication and collaboration.”
Seerat, a Cybersecurity junior with a background in Business Administration, described herself as being interested in technology, leadership, and student involvement, adding that she “..enjoy[s] developing new skills while contributing to my campus community. I am focused on continuing my education, gaining practical experience, and growing both academically and professionally.”
Senior Senators
There is only one student running for Senior Senator. Hay Marn Lwin, a senior studying Biology with the goal of becoming a family physician, describes themselves as a “..super serious person [in regard] to my education and involvement in campus activities.” Hay goes on to add that one of the reasons they are interested in becoming a Senator is because they “..believe every student, including transgender students, deserves to feel respected and included.”
There are no students running for Graduate Senator.
The candidates’ complete biographies, along with voting, can be found on Campus Groups. Voting is expected to be open until Thursday, October 1st, with the winners being announced that afternoon at the weekly Senate Business Meeting. Any questions regarding the election should be sent to sgu@sunypoly.edu.