Following the results of this year’s Undergraduate Student Government (USG) election, D’Mya Brown and Ispiro Halabi are the new president and vice president, respectively. Going into the 2026-27 school year, the two hope to enhance student experience by working closely with individuals and organizations.
Brown and Halabi dedicated their campaign to student experience, civic engagement and service, administrative relationships and sustainability. After securing their victory, the pair plans to continue these initiatives with a focus on elevating student voices.
Brown believes that for USG to effectively support the student body, its members need support from their leaders.
“We know that true leadership doesn’t start by barking commands down the chain, but rather by lifting people up and giving them the power to enact the changes they want to see and have the impact they want to see,” Brown said.
To grow student impact within USG, Brown and Halabi hope senators will take on more leadership roles and connect with a range of students.
“We’ve had a very big focus on outreach, and we want to continue that. Not only by reaching students, but having just general senators and other [executive] board members be involved in talking to administration and relaying that information so the students,” Halabi said.
The USG body is composed of individual senators who oversee their constituencies, plus an executive board with specific focuses per member. Brown has noticed some disconnect between the branches in USG leadership.
“Something that I would really like to see remedied is just a better connection between the executive board and the senators, so that the senators can have a better connection with administration and the executive board can have a better connection with the student body,” Brown said.
Part of being leaders and advocates for the undergraduate student body is being connected with the university and the community. Halabi says he has confidence in growing the USG body under his and Brown’s leadership.
“We had a really great year last year, and I’d like to think we were a big part of that,” Halabi said. “We’ve built a very strong, diverse cabinet of members of USG who know a lot of people who I think are very capable leaders.”
To strengthen connections with students, Brown and Halabi hope to implement town hall meetings, giving students a platform to share their thoughts.
“Pushing town halls so [students] can come and speak to their representatives, the people who want to make those changes on their behalf. That sort of thing is going to be really important to us as we welcome in not only our new students, but also our returning students,” Brown said.
Brown and Halabi were able to communicate with other student groups to hear their concerns while making plans to address said topics. Something they plan to pursue further into the fall semester.
“I think that set a really solid foundation for us in terms of not only meeting with those student groups and making sure that they know we’re here to support them,” Brown said. “It’s extending an open hand to show that we actually are about listening to you guys.”
