Winter 2020 Candidates

The following candidates are running as a ticket for the positions of President and Vice President. Only one ticket will win the election.

  • The President is the Chair of the Executive Board, setting agendas for Executive Board meetings and determining the overall direction of Student Government.
  • The President is able to call emergency meetings of the Student Government when the student body is needed to speak and a regular meeting is not scheduled soon enough for the Student Government to appropriately react.
  • The Vice President has the responsibility to oversee members of the Assembly, maintaining contact with and creating relationships with all Assembly members, in the interest of supporting them and ensuring that they are fulfilling their duties.
  • The Vice President holds the responsibility of maintaining order during General Body meetings.

The following tickets are listed in alphabetical order by last name of the presidential candidate.

Perla Figuereo & Lebanos Mengistu

Bobcats! We are Perla Figuereo and Lebanos Mengistu and we are running for Student Body President and VP for this upcoming school year.

We understand the complexities of being a student on a campus that has so many different people with many different needs. We are both first-generation college students that moved from a different country, which makes us really interested and invested in creating community and space where everyone is included and heard.

I (Perla) am in my junior year double majoring in Rhetoric, Film, and Screen Studies and Theater. I love conversation and consider myself a storyteller.

I (Lebanos) am in my junior double majoring in Politics and Africana studies. I am currently studying abroad at the University of Ghana. I am an outgoing person who is passionate about making positive changes in the world.

We have served in BCSG throughout our time at Bates. Our first and second year we served as a class representative for the class of 2021. During this school year, Lebanos served as VP fall semester and Perla served as VP during the winter semester. If elected, we plan to amend the constitution and take leadership as co-presidents in order to work more effectively and bring about positive changes for the student body.

As your co-presidents we will work to revamp the OIE, work on security reforms, administration transparency, provide more town halls to commons, and work to make BCSG student facing. In addition, we will work to bring in a BCSG speaker series!

We are running together because we carry the experience necessary to make effective change. We are committed to continuing the positive work BCSG has done, and lastly we will continue to work to serve you.

We hope that you vote for Perla and Lebanos!

Miles Nabritt & Garrett Evans

My name is Miles Nabritt and I am running for Bates Student Government President with my Vice President Garrett Evans. Both of us have been elected student body president of our high school and we would like to bring that same energy and success to Bates. We are striving to accomplish a platform to improve upon five key aspects of Bates: Security, Parking, Accountability, Responsibility, Community. With this platform, we will be able to address issues such as communication between Bates security and the student body, organizing space for clubs and organizations, and most importantly dealing with issues such as mental health, racial profiling, and sexual assault. As student body president and vice-president, we want to ensure that every student on this campus has a voice and identity that can express and share without limitations. We are honored to be candidates and have the chance to run for president and vice-president of Bates Student Government.

The following candidates are running for the position of Class Representative. Three individuals will be elected from each class year.

  • Class representatives vote, debate, and advocate for the interests of the entire student body. 
  • They are required to attend assembly and committee meetings to which they are assigned to. 
  • Most importantly, they serve to represent the interests of their class year.
  • Class representatives are assigned internal committees based on interest and need.

The following candidates are listed in alphabetical order by last name.

Class of 2023 Candidates

Barratt Dewey

My name is Barratt Dewey, and I am running for class representative because over the past year, I have gotten to know Bates and many of my classmates very well, and I have realized that while we all love Bates, there are many things–both big and small–we’d like to change and improve about our student experience. Among these, revitalizing the social life and returning social freedom to the students; increasing accessibility to and transparency in student government; reducing EMS cost and increasing mental health resources and accessibility; fixing the housing disparity; building a more student-centric relationship between the students and the administration; and forming a student government-funded spirit club to better support our sports teams and build a better sports culture will be my top priorities upon assumption of office, among many others. It would be my honor and privilege to be in a position to make these improvements and be the voice for every single one of you and your ideas and concerns, regardless of what they are and who you are. We have the opportunity to make real change in student government, and I believe I have the plan, the vision, and the dedication to make these changes a reality and make sure Bates is the best place it can be for all of us.

Imti Hassan

Hi, amazing and beautiful people! My name is Imti Hassan and I am a first-year from Portland, Maine. I currently serve as the representative for the class of 2023. In student government, I’ve assisted with diversity and inclusion and making Bates more accessible. I always try to make an opportunity to hear from you guys, my class peers, because I passionately believe in student voices and student collaborations. I serve in the student life committee, and my most current project involves creating free access to pads and tampons in every academic building on campus. I am also working on a mural project to foster more intimacy, beauty, and charm on campus. As a student, I pride myself on my openness to new ideas and opinions that are different than mine so I can challenge myself every step of the way. I am driven to use compassion as my primary tool in building community. As your current and hopefully next representative, I am driven to use compassion as my primary tool in building community. If I am re-elected, I will make sure to keep reaching out and being a good listener to what needs to be changed within our community. I will make sure that sanitary products will be more accessible within our campus, and that we can be surrounded by more art within our community. Elect me, Imti Hassan, if you want your voice and your ideas to shape our future community.

Rishi Madnani

My people! I’m running for re-election because of my continued passion and commitment to make this school a better place. This year, I served on an effective and driven Student Government, and I believe I played an integral role in its success. As someone who prioritizes improvement in the lives of students, I served on the BCSG Student Affairs sub-committee (and would continue to do so)— moreover, I am also a permanent member of the the college’s official Student Affairs Committee (with faculty and administrators). This puts me in a unique position, where I can act as a direct liaison between our class, student government, and Bates administration. Although I have important professional connections, I will always place higher value on genuine connections and relationships with you, the students. I have done my best to get to know each one of you, and I am confident in my ability to represent the range of voices present in the Bates Class of 2023. Having said that, I will always have more to learn, so feel free to come educate me about your experience! If elected, I will push for things like enhancement of student spaces (like Commons, Chase Hall, dorms, etc.) to increase happiness in the student body, combating sadness and depression; integration of inclusivity initiatives across all realms of Bates (in student life, academics, administration, and more); and more direct input and influence from students on the actions and priorities of BCSG. Let’s spread love and make change!

Ali Manning

I am running for Sophomore Class Representative because I want to provide representation for those in my class that are not currently being given the voice that they deserve. I believe that there is currently a lack of voice for specifically female identifying students, LGBTQ+ students and international students at Bates College. I wish to work with those around me to best represent the needs and interests of the students that create the amazing community that we are all a part of. There are so many identities and backgrounds that make Bates the school that it is, and those identities deserve the same respect and call for justice that others are given. I want to find an increased support for mental health, women’s reproductive health resources and a relationship between the student body and security that is built on trust. There are many injustices that go unnoticed at Bates and I plan to bring light to them. Although there are big problems at hand, I also hope to work for all of the smaller issues that we encounter daily at Bates. From better cultural diversity in our commons menus to addressing the accessibility issues in many on and off campus buildings, I promise to work hard for the sake of the wellbeing of Bates students. If elected, I will work hard to advocate for those who do not have a voice and makes Bates feel like home for all.

Class of 2022 Candidates

Losseni Barry

I want to run for Student Representative because I view this role as an opportunity to have an impact on campus. In addition, this role would allow me to eagerly advocate for my peers and connect with people on an interpersonal level. Lastly, I want to earn the trust of my peers by fulfilling my promises and actively improving their Bates experience.

Isabella David

I have really enjoyed my time at Bates and I want to make sure that everyone here has an equal opportunity to thrive and feel heard on campus. I think Bates has many great resources and as a representative I would like to help students become aware of all the resources that exist and work to improve access to them, by facilitating more meetings with faculty and students and allowing for better communication either through the Bates Engage App or in person. I would also like to ensure that campus is accessible for all students and consequently I want to fight for dorms with elevators, and ones that work all through the night even without a key card. All students should feel as though they are getting the help they need in terms of accessibility. This is also why I want to ensure that we have enough resources on campus to manage student’s mental health as well. Creating more opportunities for students to use our unused spaces and to showcase their talents will also help foster a stronger campus community. These are topics that are very important to me and I would also like to hear the other things concerning Bates students, so that I can fight to make Bates a better and fairer place for everyone.

Sobie Sobolewski

Class of 2022,

Student government has accomplished much this past year. Some notable accomplishments are creating a “Fem Folx Fitness Night” for female-identifying students at Bates and increasing school spirit by hosting a variety of Garnet Games. Next year, my hope is to continue those awesome initiatives while increasing school spirit at our home games, matches, and meets. Bates athletics is on an upswing, and we’re going to capitalize on that momentum to provide a better environment for our athletes to compete while reconciling the apparent division between athletes and non-athletes.

Respectfully,

Sobie Sobolewski

Class of 2021 Candidates

Emily Bass
I am running again for Class Representative for the Class of 2021 because I love this school and all of the work that Student Government puts into making it the best it can be. I have been a Class Representative every year throughout my time at Bates, and have learned so much about Student Government and what it means to run the organization effectively. I currently serve on the Academics Committee and I am working on a new initiative to put the syllabi for classes on Garnet Gateway so students would be better informed about their choices before they register. If elected for next year, I hope I can also work on projects specific to the senior class to make our final year at Bates the best it can be. I would be so grateful for the opportunity to continue this work next year, and hope you’ll consider voting for me! Thank you!
Perla Figuereo

I am running for Class Rep this year because throughout my time at Bates and my time being part of BCSG, I have seen this group grow in so many ways. I want to be part of this evolving group that is excited to do work that is meaningful and proactive. I want to keep representing our class and keep pushing for this campus to be one that caters to you.

William Hibbitts
It has been my pleasure to serve on BCSG and chair BCSG’s Academics Committee this year. For my first term, I was present at every single BCSG meeting this year. I calculated statistics about tuition using the software we use in my Sociology classes. I spoke to my classmates and often read The Bates Student so that I could remain in touch with your concerns and ideas. And in meetings, I have not only brought issues such as hot water in the library (which was a constituent’s idea) to the attention of BCSG, but I have also started a meaningful conversation with the Bates administration about high tuition costs and maintaining financial aid. However, the work does not stop here. I still have much to do, and I am asking for the opportunity to keep my position. Next year, I would like to continue the dialogue about the costs of both tuition and textbooks, I want to ensure that the administration becomes transparent in their activities, and I will continue to lend my support to efforts that both improve student life in general and the experience of marginalized students here at Bates. I wrote last year about the fact that Bates needs to revert to its original principles of egalitarianism and justice. Though Bates has often strayed from that founding vision, we can still hold Bates accountable to it. I will continue to do just that as your representative.

Alya Yousuf

Coming to Bates College, I was expecting to be in a safe, diverse, and collaborative environment. Being here for almost 3 years now, I have noticed several things about Bates that I wish to change. Starting from the outrageous tuition hikes, the failure to be transparent about where Bates’ money goes and the clever book-buy-back policy, Bates is operating more as a business than a college. In addition, Bates prides itself on creating an educated, well-rounded individual. Yet, I fail to see the topics of race, ethnicity, gender and sexuality being brought up in the STEM realm. Every student deserves to not only feel safe, but to feel accepted and free to express oneself regardless of their environment. I have been a member of BCSG for a year now, and I I believe that there is more work to be done to ensure that Bates becomes an open and safe environment for every student. I am running for student government representative of the senior class because I hope to continue to be the voice that speaks up against these issues, as well as the voice that helps project your issues. As a class representative, I will ensure that these issues are no longer overlooked simply because they don’t affect the majority.