Student Government Association’s "Meet the Candidates" event allowed students and Wright State University community to become acquainted with SGA's future President and Vice President, Shloka Ravinuthala and Eimaan Virani.
SGA's Meet the Candidates Event
Another season of SGA elections is upon the WSU community, meaning selecting candidates for the 2025-2026 term that reflect the needs of the students is important.
On March 27, SGA’s "Meet the Candidates" event showcased the goals, views and personalities of running presidential candidate, Shloka Ravinuthala, and vice-president candidate, Eimaan Virani.
As SGA’s purpose is to advocate for and create positive change for the WSU students on-campus, candidates provided answers to hard-hitting questions which reflected issues that SGA has faced both previously and currently.
The candidates answered a variety of questions to ensure student voters can confidently back Ravinuthala and Virani to represent the student population. Furthermore, the pair expressed common interests and intentions for the position throughout the duration of time allotted for answers.
The candidates: information and main goals
Ravinuthala and Virani ensured students could trust the pair to effectively represent the student population, whether that be residential or commuter students.
Ravinuthala, SGA president, is a biomedical engineering major that lives on campus. She is an active member of the campus community, serving as an admissions ambassador. The freshman candidate expressed goals to serve the WSU community and potentially collaborate with Dayton government as an SGA leader.
“There is a lot of good that comes from municipal government and city government, so that would be a great connection to have and to push different members in SGA to have that collaboration between us and our municipal government,” Ravinuthala said.
Ravinuthala’s chosen partner for the election is Virani, a sophomore public health major, who currently holds a spot as a senator in SGA. Virani is a commuter student that participates in an array of clubs and activities on campus, including Pre-Health Society and Miracle Makers.
The vice-presidential candidate highlighted a main goal of effective communication among campus society in hopes of keeping students aware of what is going on in SGA and on campus.
Virani also noted that job training and transparency for SGA members would be an objective as vice-president to ensure members are properly carrying out jobs for the student community.
“I think with SGA people get confused on what our job is, what our role is, what we have jurisdiction over, what we don’t have jurisdiction over…Making sure that students are in the know,” Virani said.
Plans for student advocacy
SGA’s purpose on campus is with the sole intention to unite and advocate for the student population. A candidate’s willingness to tackle student issues and guarantee a safe and inclusive environment for the community are the qualities of an effective leader.
The WSU student community faces a number of problems that could be addressed by SGA. Mental health continues to be a concern for the student population that needs to be advocated for. Both candidates share a passion for mental health advocacy and inclusivity, which the pair plan to display in their term.
Virani highlighted the importance of advocating for mental health and explained that this passion for mental health would be put into action through supporting campus mental health services and approving policies that are mindful of all students.
Inclusivity remains a pressing issue for students as Senate Bill One plans to eliminate all DEI programs which had protected students in the past.
As issues of safety and inclusivity arise to the student population, SGA members are tasked with advocating for the population. Ravinuthala and Virani expressed devotion to supporting and representing all identities and groups on campus through active listening and communication with WSU administration.
“While my time here at [WSU] has been a little short, I have just finished my second semester here. I have created connections with various different administrations on campus, and faculty as well that I know that I can talk about student concerns,” Ravinuthala said.
Virani also emphasized the power of students’ voices and students’ right to protest.
The pair plans to enact change and enhance campus safety and inclusivity through leadership in SGA in the 2025-2026 term.
