SGA’s race for presidential position commences

By Caroline Haviland and Cal Sutton

For the first time since 2023, the election for Rider’s Student Government Association president has more than one candidate on the ballot to potentially lead the organization in the       2026-27 school year through a time of revitalization for the university. 

All full-time undergraduate students have until April 8 to choose between junior human resource management major Lizbeth Ortiz or junior political science major Jaiden David to succeed current SGA President Moira Geiger. 

To understand the focus of their campaigns and the vision for their potential presidencies, The Rider News held separate interviews with both candidates on March 30. 

A more involved community

The first candidate, Ortiz, has been involved with SGA since her freshman year, starting with a position within the academic affairs committee through her freshman and sophomore years at Rider, and then in the student clubs and organizations committee.

Ortiz knew she wanted to make a difference on campus since she began at Rider.

“As a freshman, I came to Rider, I was like ‘I want to be SGA president,’” Ortiz said.

Ortiz’s vision for Rider, if she wins the position, is to bring back a higher level of student engagement, she said, noticing a difference in engagement between her freshman year and fall of her sophomore year.

Her goal is to foster more Rider spirit across campus, including hosting more events that collaborate with clubs and organizations, bringing back Cranberry Wednesdays and resurrecting Food Truck Fridays.

“It’s those little pop-up events that … [make] people more engaged,” Ortiz said.

Ortiz also plans to encourage athletes to get more involved in on-campus activities to get them out of their sports-centric routines, looking to partner with the Student Athlete Advisory Council and          Morgan’s Message.

Working with the Counseling Center is important to Ortiz, planning opportunities for pop-ups before or after Thursday senate meetings.

She also hopes to renovate the communal area in the residence quad, as well as develop a               weather-protected social and study spot at the lawn behind Gee Hall.

Ortiz noted the variety of perspectives she has from her life experiences and her on-campus involvements to be the reason why she is the best candidate for the position.

Ortiz founded and is president of Rider’s DominiRicans club, noting, “We needed more Hispanic unity on campus.” Noticing that the Latin American Student Organization was not active at the time, she decided to start a club that made people feel at home.

Holding herself and her culture close, she said, will give her the opportunity to see campus from various lenses. “I have so many different identities [as] a part of me,” Ortiz said. “I always stay true to myself.”

Along with her involvement in Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc. as the secretary, academic chair and Rider’s delegate, Ortiz is an Equal Opportunity Program scholar and was part of the Multicultural Student Leadership Institute her freshman year, now known as All Broncs BELONG Alliance. She is also a resident assistant in Lincoln Hall.

Ortiz said she is proud to be a student with strong on-campus involvement and wants to help students of all kinds promote Rider spirit.

“We’re proud to go to Rider, I am proud to go to Rider,” Ortiz said.

Enhancing campus contact

The second candidate on the ballot is David, who has not held a position in SGA before, but brings experience from his other roles on campus. He serves as the vice president of Rider’s chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. and is the director of comedy and game shows for the Student                   Entertainment Council. 

His decision to run for SGA student body president came the week before this year’s spring break. David said, upon reflection with his advisers and friends, he felt that he underestimated himself when it came to pursuing bigger roles such as SGA president.

“I’m my biggest critic … I realized that the SGA president is a Rider student at the end of the day,” David said. “So anybody in this room has what it takes to be SGA president, so why can’t I?”

David said his campaign is centered around four main aspects: communication, organizations, resources and everyday student concerns and issues — or CORE, as he puts it.

To communicate with and hear from students more often, David said he wants to send out frequent email updates about ongoing problems to the student community so that they know SGA is working to make resolutions. He also plans to place suggestion boxes around campus for students to voice any concerns they may have. 

His goals as student body president primarily revolve around an increasing utilization of social media to shine a light on different organizations and resources that Rider offers its students, which he referred to as the “heartbeat of our campus.”

“I feel like our resources, like the Academic Success Center, the Counseling Center … should be talked about, not just when people are down, but it should be talked about when everybody is in a good light,”   David said. 

In regards to frequent issues that students face on campus, David said he wants to be the voice to ensure the prioritization of resolving qualms with the university’s internet and residence halls.

To get these issues heard by university officials, David credited the relationships he has built over the past three years at Rider as an advantage to his potential presidency. 

With the SGA student body president being the liaison between the administration and student body, David said he is ready to advocate for the needs of his fellow students.

David recollected a time last year when he worked at an Apple store. He and his newly hired colleagues were people of minorities and faced discrimination by some of their other coworkers. This led David to speak with the human resources department within his first month there, which he said took a lot of courage.

“I feel like with [SGA president], if I was able to stand up to my higher ups then, and I didn’t have power or anything, imagine what I’m capable of doing if I have the power to actually have a say,” David said.

Journey New is a social media editor for The Rider News and a member of SGA. They had no part in the writing or editing of this piece.