Borbon-Lee Win SGA Elections
Gabriel Borbon '23 and Klanell Lee '24 after winning SGA Presidential Election. Source: Sam Murphy '24
Gabriel Borbon ‘23 was elected the next Student Body President of Marist College. Borbon will lead the Student Government Association (SGA) in the 2022-23 school year alongside incoming Executive Vice President Klanell Lee ‘24.
The Borbon-Lee ticket received 657 votes, defeating the two other candidates by a margin of over 200 votes and claiming 45% of the vote. Vanessa Toic ‘23 and Nandini Narula Bajpai ‘25 received 415 votes, and Caleb Davis ‘24 and Martín Varona ‘24 received 405 votes.
“I was confident going towards the end; Klanell and I have worked day in and day out,” said Borbon. “I’d like to thank everyone that voted for us, supported us and told their friends. At the end of the day, we’re here for everyone.”
Voting happened during a two-day period concluding on April 27, after being initially scheduled for April 13. The election was postponed twice after concerns had been raised, drawing the attention of the Grievance Committee.
According to SGA Director of Elections Commission Catalina Buitano ‘22, “issues brought to the Grievance Committee pertain to conduct issues or violations of election procedures.”
Buitano commented that the concerns raised regarded procedures for campaigning such as social media posting and flyers. In the end, the election and all three candidates were allowed to resume.
After their victory, Lee said he was motivated to “work on transparency on campus, helping students understand the processes behind the scenes that they don’t know about.”
SGA also announced the Class Presidents for next year. Sarah O’Keefe and Olivia Zykoff will remain President and Vice President for the Class of 2023. Rising juniors will have a new Class President and Vice President duo in Tyler Street ‘24 and Rachel Silverman ‘24. Evan Spillane and Keziah Franks will lead the Class of 2025 for the second year.
This year Borbon served as the Commuter Representative, and Lee was the Vice President of Safety and Security.
“The biggest thing I’m ready to work on is building a community that supports each other,” said Borbon. “We want to make a better Marist for all students.”