{"id":220606,"date":"2026-04-06T14:55:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T14:55:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/220606\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T14:55:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T14:55:46","slug":"usfsp-sg-reflects-on-challenges-amid-elections-the-crows-nest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/220606\/","title":{"rendered":"USFSP SG reflects on challenges amid elections\u00a0 \u2013 The Crow’s Nest"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jasmin Parrado\u00a0<\/p>\n

General elections for Student Government made headway across all campuses at the University of South Florida this spring, and uncertified results on March 10 narrowed down the race of almost 100 candidates, who led brief campaigns promising student resources and representation just weeks prior.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Election Rules Commission will look to new leaders to fulfill those promises. Elections come at a time when SG faces recurring financial challenges like the A&S budget, which has been cut by 50% for the 2025-26 fiscal year, slashing budget allocations for upwards of 250 student organizations across all campuses.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s about hundreds of thousands of dollars in cuts,\u201d Prophete said. \u201cBut something we\u2019re really prioritizing, obviously, is students as Student Government, and also the livelihoods of people.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prophete,\u00a0junior\u00a0in political science and sustainability studies, decided not to run for re-election.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She said the decision was difficult, but important \u2014 and it models civic changes beyond academia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s really important to be able to step away from power that you have and trust that other people can do it and will do it and will do an amazing job at fulfilling the role that I\u2019ve been in for two years,\u201d Prophete told\u00a0The Crow\u2019s Nest.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Six years into its tri-campus consolidation,\u00a0\u201crepresentation and budgets are a continuous battle\u201d for SG, Prophete said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think just being able to have St.\u00a0Pete representation or Sarasota representation from local execs in a federal executive cabinet, where it\u2019s mostly campus students, is a little bit difficult,\u201d Prophete told\u00a0The Crow\u2019s Nest.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prophete believes that with the intersection of campus-specific needs and funding setbacks, the A&S budget is often a \u201cscary conversation to have,\u201d and it will be a vital topic for future student leaders to tackle, especially with a\u00a0consolidated\u00a0SG.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut that\u2019s the point of government,\u201d Prophete said. \u201cSo, I think\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0a battle that will be fought with every administration each year.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prophete said she believes \u201chaving a more collaborative spirit\u201d will be helpful in navigating those conversations and ensuring that \u201cthey\u2019re actually conversations and not just one-sided decisions.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

She\u00a0hopes to see the incoming president and vice president embody that spirit.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Candidates campaigned extensively for their SG roles earlier this month, and political student organizations either opted to endorse candidates or pull away from electoral support.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a Feb. 28 Instagram\u00a0post<\/a>, USF College Democrats declared that it had decided not to endorse any candidates in the election.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Its statement was shown beneath a photo of a digital sign in the University Student Center that previously displayed its\u00a0initial\u00a0endorsement of Williams \u2014 the organization\u2019s president \u2014 and Mahesh.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, USF Tampa\u2019s College Republicans endorsed\u00a0Esmeraldi\u00a0and Martins, Mayer and\u00a0Jacomini\u00a0and Lucio\u00a0Bagulho, who ran for senate, in an Instagram\u00a0post<\/a>\u00a0on March 2.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Williams \u2014 whose campaign alongside Mahesh came shortly after he stepped down as SG\u2019s senate president\u00a0\u2014 told\u00a0The Crow\u2019s Nest\u00a0he wanted to address controversial administrative actions such as the Sarasota-Manatee\u00a0bill proposal<\/a>, which would\u00a0facilitate\u00a0the New College of Florida\u2019s purchase of the 51-year-old campus.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition to mental health struggles, the political science junior said he chose to exit his senate president position to avoid facing \u201cbaby politics,\u201d which he alleged is common in smaller SG circles, alongside current leaders\u2019 lack of initiative to advocate.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

During his campaign, Williams told\u00a0The Crow\u2019s Nest\u00a0he\u2019d\u00a0also aim to\u00a0represent\u00a0USF St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee to his \u201cfullest ability\u201d and that he felt \u201cmuted\u201d from doing that in his\u00a0previous\u00a0role, which he said is\u00a0designated\u00a0as a neutral arbiter in SG senate matters.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prophete said the student body president role may face certain limitations on its own, since the president\u00a0resides\u00a0in the cabinet as opposed to her own position, in which she feels she \u201cspeaks up all the time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure how navigating that will be with whoever the next student body president is, but I think they should just know that their position is not in jeopardy if they\u2019re advocating for students,\u201d Prophete said. \u201cThat\u2019s the entire point of their job.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prophete believes that if the president feels \u201cempowered\u201d in their role and has agency in it, then they should not have any issue speaking up about what they believe in and what students need.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prophete recalled that during her term, she advocated for inter-campus transportation \u2014 and SG should pursue it going forward.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

With\u00a0high gas prices<\/a>\u00a0and the university tuition\u2019s transportation fee, she believes the solution is essential if USF wants to reach its consolidation\u00a0objective, which is otherwise stunted\u00a0largely by\u00a0the issue.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI just feel like it\u2019s still kind of ridiculous, and it\u2019s a battle that is\u00a0gonna\u00a0take a while to solve,\u201d Prophete told\u00a0The Crow\u2019s Nest.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Amid funding,\u00a0transportation\u00a0and representation, Prophete also hopes that future SG leadership can also prioritize the USC\u2019s art gallery, primarily to restore representation lost years ago with the\u00a0removal\u00a0<\/a>of its international flags.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to show student representation \u2014 student artwork directly \u2014 especially with our wonderful graphic arts program, and just to show the culture of the St. Pete campus is something I\u2019d really love for SG to continue with after I\u2019m not the governor anymore,\u201d Prophete said.\u00a0<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\t Post Views: 41 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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Written by: Jasmin Parrado<\/a> on April 6, 2026.
Last revised by: Julia Ferrara<\/a>