By ABIGAIL SHEARER
Tiger Media Network
After being elected April 9, President-Elect Marcell Dely and Vice President-Elect Justus Nelson talked to Tiger Media Network to discuss what their plans are for the 2026-27 school year.
Vision for next year
“Support the students, the student bodies, wherever I can … bringing the students together. I see on campus, and I heard it from multiple people, that our campus is divided even though we are one Tiger family,” Dely said.
What is one thing you want to see happen next year?
“Be one Tiger family, bring people together, support organizations as a whole,” Dely said.
Talking to students
Delly talked about collectively having knowledge. “I’m not one who knows everything. You and everyone know something, but together we all have all the knowledge. If you put them together, what we have, I think we can achieve a lot.”
“Making sure that we’re always approachable, and not only just in the office,” Nelson said. “This extends outside of just the exec board and everything, but what we’re trying to do is meet the people where they are.”
How to give voices to the unheard
“I think just making the first initial step to go to students, to go to organizations as the executive staff. I think that’s something that can help in terms of just making the connection. Because I’ve heard lots of students say that, even though the SGA meetings are open to anyone and everyone, there’s an open forum where you know anyone can share their ideas and anything with the crowd. … People are afraid to not just go, but to speak up.” Dely said.
“Encourage those people to speak and give them the floor to speak,” Nelson said.
Biggest challenge
“As a president and as SGA, we can achieve a lot, but not everything. You know there’s a limited time, limited resources and limited money.” Dely said.
Talking to admin, faculty and staff
“I’m not afraid to ask questions from smarter people than me, and I believe most of the professors are smarter than me,” Dely said. “So definitely going to reach out to professors if I need any guidance in a certain topic.”
Senator outreach
“When there’s less senators, when there’s less people at Senate, there’s less representation for the students. This is the only way that we get our voices heard. … Make it enticing, make it something fun, make it something that people feel proud of being a part of, and make them proud of the changes they can actually see affected on campus,” Nelson said.
Maintaining momentum
“Holding each other accountable and keeping each other motivated. … Basically just having a good support structure and understanding when to look out for yourself and take a break when you need to,” Nelson said.