The Student Government Association Senate confirmed the first non-SGA student representative for the University-Wide Programs Fund at a meeting Monday.
SGA senators confirmed Watson Mavura, a first-year international graduate student in the School of Business, for the UWPF’s first non-SGA representative in a unanimous vote with one abstention. Mavura will serve as one of six voting members on the UWPF and help determine funding allocations for student organizations.
The UWPF — a joint fund between the SGA and GW that allocates funding to student organizations to host campus-wide events — was previously composed of three Office of Student Life staff members and three SGA senators. The SGA passed a bill last month to replace one SGA senator seat with a seat for a student who is not in the SGA, which SGA Sen. and Finance Committee Chair Jonesy Strell said will ensure the allocations process is “more inclusive” of the GW student body.
Mavura said he previously served as the founder and chairperson of the University of Zimbabwe Health and Wellness Taskforce where he received his undergraduate degree. He said his previous role as a student leader and the “financial expertise” he gained in his chairperson role gave him experience in financial planning and cooperating with the student body.
“As a representative, I will work tirelessly to, one, amplify student concerns and ideas, two, foster inclusive and equitable decision-making and then promote transparency and accountability,” Mavura said. “My vision is to create a vibrant campus community where every student feels valued and supported.”
The SGA also passed a bill to more clearly define “good standing” in the finance bylaws for student organizations applying for funding. The SGA Finance Definition Bill, sponsored by SGA Pro Tempore Liz Stoddard (CCAS-U), provides a clear definition of “good standing” for student organizations as being “in compliance” with the student organization requirements set by the Office for Student Life and “not being suspended.” Requirements for good standing include Title IX and finance trainings for student organization leaders.
“Basically, what we’re trying to do here is define a term that’s used across the bylaws that has caused recent confusion, especially with orgs wondering if they can or cannot receive funding,” Stoddard said.
The SGA Senate confirmed Yana Gelman, a senior studying exercise science, for the undergraduate senate seat representing the Milken Institute of Public Health. Gelman said her parents, who immigrated from Ukraine in the 1990s, inspired her to advocate for student voices in the Milken community.
“Growing up, they instilled in my brother and I the importance of voting and having our voices be heard as they spent years being silenced,” Gelman said. “As a first-generation college student, myself, this has inspired me to take action and ensure that both voices of students are being heard.”
Gelman said she plans to “improve the communication” between Milken students and their advisors by requiring advisors to host more frequent meetings with students to address “frustrations” about class registration and graduation requirements. She said she also wants to find “effective” ways to present job opportunities to public health students by using bulletin boards in the Milken school and sending weekly emails to students to increase “transparency” from school administration about available professional opportunities.
The SGA senate unanimously confirmed five additional students to SGA senate and executive positions.
The SGA confirmed Lily Jenden, a junior studying international affairs and anthropology, as the body’s parliamentarian, a position dedicated to helping the body’s vice president conduct senate meetings. SGA senators also confirmed Ella Masino, a sophomore studying finance and data science, to the position of legislative budget office assistant, which assists in the finance allocations process and production of annual SGA finance reports.
The senate also confirmed Francesca Senatori and Gabriela Hernández, both first-years studying international affairs, as legal assistants to the SGA Office of Senate Legal Counsel. The OSLC is the SGA Senate’s standing counsel, which represents the legislative branch in the SGA’s Student Court and helps the body draft legislation.
SGA senators approved Lena Fortun as the executive secretary of health. The SGA senate confirmed Fortun as the co-chair of the Mental Health Assembly, a group that seeks to spread awareness of mental health resources on campus, at the Sept. 9 senate meeting.
SGA senators also confirmed Michael Ubis, a junior studying political science and public administration as commissioner of the Joint Elections Commission — the body that oversees student body elections for the SGA. Ubis has served in the role since 2023 and said he hopes to continue increasing voter turnout for the 2025 SGA election following the 43.98 percent increase during the 2024 election.
The SGA senate will meet next on Oct. 7 at 8 p.m. in the University Student Center Grand Ballroom.
