Swarthmore’s Student Government Organization (SGO) held its first meeting of the 2025-2026 academic year as a complete senate on Sunday, Sept. 21. In large part, this first meeting was held to welcome and acclimate the newest elected members of SGO, including the Class of 2029 Senators Trevor Black ’29, Imelda Ramirez ’29, and Zuyuan Zhou ’29, as well as the new At-Large Senators Kenn Jiang ’27 and Noah Stapleton ’29.
Director of Student Activities Rebecca Weintraub-Barth opened the meeting by introducing herself as the advisor to SGO and offering her counsel and leadership as a community resource for support with students’ projects and goals. Vice President Luca Campiani ’26 took the stand to commence roll call together with President Abby Guise ’26.
The majority of student leaders introduced themselves as advocates of the student experience following the lead of the SGO president. Guise remarked that she “joined because [she] was really passionate about getting involved with the student experience and creating a holistic student experience that [she] was proud of and proud to leave … behind at Swat.”
Other SGO members expressed their hope to amplify the voices of affinity groups on campus, echoing the sentiments of Brandon Sorongon ’27, the head of SGO’s diversity and inclusion committee. Among these statements were desires to “increase the engagement that SGO has with affinity groups,” as articulated by SGO Senator Danny Ly ’27.
Ly and Sorongon hope that collaboration with these groups, together with a more diverse SGO compared with previous years, will bolster the senate in their obligation to represent students’ needs. Following the senate’s personal introductions, Campiani told new SGO members where to access important documents, including running meeting notes and agendas.
The assembly then held a period of silence in honor of the college’s Quaker roots. After a quick recap of the agenda, Campiani conceded the floor to Guise, who said she is looking forward to “really achieving something great with SGO.”
This year, Guise said that SGO will be especially focused on connecting students with Swarthmore’s administration. She read out SGO’s mission statement, written by the executive board: “SGO implements students’ goals and brings students’ voices to the forefront of discussions with faculty, staff, Swarthmore’s administration, and its surrounding community. SGO will increasingly facilitate transparency and clarity around policies for the student body, ensuring students have change-making abilities.”
On the topic of the SGO’s constitution, Campiani first brought the room’s attention to the organization’s attendance policies. He stressed the importance of regular attendance, citing the obligation of board members to serve the student body.
While SGO does allow for excused absences, Campiani noted, “SGO represents and serves the interests of the student body.” The importance of attendance was affirmed as a matter not only of advice, but also of chief principle: dignity in their roles and honor as representatives.
Finally, the senate was informed of the selection of committees on which they would serve: outreach, diversity and inclusion, student organizations, student life, academic affairs, and internal affairs. Aiming to plan initiatives to better student life in every area, senators elected by senior members participate in these committees, which were designed to holistically address student life. They cover issues from revisions of SGO’s bylaws to amplifying students’ voices.
In addition to committee work, the convocation will also work together to vote on the referendums and resolutions written by its body. Acknowledging the complexities of SGO, Internal Affairs Committee Chair Wyatt Brannon ’26 concluded the meeting by acknowledging that many Swarthmore students were concerned that SGO was impotent. Brannon clarified that each member has individual power in planning, setting agendas, writing constitutional amendments, communicating with senior members, and writing resolutions.
“Fundamentally we do [have power], it’s simply that we have maybe not tapped into it in the way that is beneficial to the student body in past years. We have the ability this year to reset things and actually tap into those powers in a way that is beneficial to the student body,” Brannon said.
After expressing appreciation for the new senate on behalf of the executive board and clarifying that each term was one school year, the meeting was adjourned by Campiani.
