Presidential candidate David Douglas Zahn to the left and his running mate, Titan Sanchez, to the right. ORACLE PHOTO/VIOLET VASQUEZ PIMENTEL
David Douglas Zahn and Titan Sanchez met while living on campus at Juniper-Poplar Hall in fall 2024 and later became close friends — moving from hallmates, to roommates, to running mates.
Zahn, 20, is a sophomore biomedical sciences major, and Sanchez, 19, is a sophomore political science major.
Although neither candidate serves or has served in Student Government, Zahn and Sanchez decided to run for student body president and vice president, respectively.
Both said they feel SG is not as present or engaged with students as it should be. Therefore, they plan to implement more opportunities for representation and advocacy if elected.
Zahn said they have also heard SG’s work environment is “toxic” across the board.
“What sets us apart from them is that we’re not a part of any form of Student Government,” Zahn said. “We’re bringing in a new breath.”
Zahn and Sanchez said their campaign runs on three main points — advocacy, efficacy and engagement.
“We want to advocate for individual students, not just student organizations, but the students in those organizations,” Zahn said. “We’re not just stopping at the top.”
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Despite their lack of experience in SG, both candidates said the organizations they are part of have helped them prepare for a leadership role.
Zahn is part of the Boy Scouts of America, a national volunteer organization that prepares children and young adults how to make ethical decisions through outdoor activities and service.
“I’ve learned that not listening creates a huge divide between leadership and the people who are being led,” Zahn said.
Sanchez is a part of the Law Review at USF, which is a student-run, peer-reviewed club focused on writing, researching and publishing analyses on legal and social issues.
He is also an intern for the Office of the State Attorney in the Trial Transcript Library — a repository of available trial transcripts and cases — where he finds resources for Florida Assistant State Attorneys’ cases.
“It’s basically helping families of victims seek justice that they need, and using the skills I learned there, that’s how we can help the communities here,” Sanchez said.
Zahn said that as Judy Genshaft Honors College students, he and Sanchez are held to different expectations than other students, and plan to uphold these standards both academically and professionally in SG.
“Being a USF student and a member of SG is important to us because being able to represent students as a student is what any SG role is at its core,” Zahn said.
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Both Zahn and Sanchez said there are issues on campus that need to be addressed to improve campus life — such as a lack of transparency, representation and community between SG and students.
Sanchez said they want to be more in touch with USF’s student body, and they plan to do so in person rather than relying on social media and screens.
Zahn said he and Sanchez want to visit all USF campuses to listen and address student concerns.
“Being passionate and upfront and in person is important because everyone knows Student Government is a thing, but they’re not upfront, and they’re not in person that you could go up and effectively voice your issues,” Sanchez said.
Zahn and Sanchez said they want to connect with students to find a way to ensure voices on all three USF campuses are heard.
“We’re trying to be more one USF because we’ve got two and a half campuses right now, and in spirit we’re already one USF, it’s just different campuses,” Zahn said.
He said they both plan to be honest and transparent with students about what they can do and accomplish in their roles, and will do their best to achieve the most desirable outcomes — leading back to their goal of efficacy.
“It comes down to us saying that we tried, this is what we can give you, we’re sorry we can’t get the rest and we’re going to work harder at it,” Zahn said.
Zahn said the engagement aspect of their campaign aligns with the ticket’s focus on individual students and their needs.
“The students are the ones that make up the student organizations, so with that, we plan to mingle more with the actual students that make up these organizations and clubs rather than the heads or presidents of them,” Sanchez said.
Zahn and Sanchez said the ticket will stay true to their campaign if elected, as they want to bring a new perspective and new ideas to SG.
“We’re new faces trying to shed new light,” Sanchez said. “We want to try and focus on the individual students who built these student organizations and made it better to make these campuses great.”
Sanchez said it is important for students to voice their opinions and use their voting power in these elections to achieve “real change” on campus.
“The executive branch and all other parts of Student Government have effective change if we work really hard and can bring great things on campus,” he said.
This article is part of a “Meet the Candidates” series for all tickets running in the presidential election. The Oracle will publish two articles a day as part of this series. Check the website for more tickets tomorrow.
The other tickets running in the race are:
Hunter Rabinowitz (student body president) and Mia Riley (student body vice president)
Caio Esmeraldi (student body president) and Maria Julia Mussa Martins (student body vice president)
Tyler Williams (student body president) and Haran Mahesh (student body vice president)
Muhammad Kamil (student body president) and Linda Kahok (student body vice president)