This week at UM: The Frost Jazz Orchestra earns its first-ever Grammy nomination, Divine Nine members celebrate Black History Month with a halftime performance at a Miami Heat game, and the fashion rental app Tonight’s Dress gains popularity among students. We also cover what UM students should know before studying abroad — from culture shock to personal growth — and spotlight three compelling editorials on LGBTQ+ life in Miami, newsroom layoffs at The Washington Post and student government campaign promises.
Miami divers shine on their final day of events as swimming begins competing at ACC Championships
The diving stage closed with hardware at the ACC Swim & Dive Championships — and Miami’s swimmers wasted no time stepping onto the championship stage.
On the final day of diving competition at the conference championships inside the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, veteran Mohamed Farouk delivered a steady performance on platform to pace the Hurricanes. After qualifying second in the morning preliminary round, Farouk advanced to the evening final and placed seventh overall with a score of 329.40, securing valuable conference points for Miami.
The platform final marked the conclusion of the diving portion of the meet for the Hurricanes, who leave Atlanta’s boards with sharp momentum.
Leading that charge was Chiara Pellacani. After defending her ACC title in the 3-meter springboard earlier in the meet, Pellacani was named the conference’s Most Valuable Women’s Diver — a recognition that cements her dominance and consistency on the conference stage.
And as diving wrapped, swimming competition surged forward.
Miami’s top 200-yard medley relay team — Leah Treglia, Zofia Sobczak, Isabelle Videment and Ines Mahmoudi — touched in 1:39.18, opening the swimming slate with a competitive showing.
Later, the Hurricanes’ 800-yard freestyle relay quartet of Savannah Barr, Ashlyn Massey, Sarah Sensenbrenner and Brooke Murphy clocked a 7:12.22, adding depth and veteran presence to Miami’s early-on swim results.
With diving complete and swimming fully underway, the Hurricanes now shift focus to stacking points across the remaining days of competition which continue Wednesday in Atlanta — and Miami has already proven it intends to stay in the mix.
‘Gave us momentum’: Miami WBB defeats Stanford 66-51 on Black Awareness Month Night
Unity, culture, love — the words striped across the Miami Hurricanes warm-up shirts in honor of Black Awareness Month. A reminder for all the hardship, prejudice and heartache the black community has suffered, but also battled through to succeed.
And for a team that has struggled to put together wins all season, the UM Women’s Basketball team took those words to heart, putting together a spirited performance to cut down the Stanford Cardinal 66-51 on Thursday night at the Watsco Center.
“To win games and be connected you need all three (unity, culture, love),” said UM junior Amarachi Kimpson postgame. “Knowing that we’re connected allowed us to come out with a win.”
The triumph marked Miami’s first back-to-back win since Jan. 1, where UM took down Virginia Tech in an eventful overtime showdown.
MIami was in the midst of a torrid rough patch before this pair of wins, losing eight of ten from Jan. 4 to Feb. 8.
And while this win over Stanford might’ve been less dramatic than VT, it could prove as a crucial turning point in UM head coach Tricia Cullop’s second season — one using all three components of the pre-game messaging.
Unified.
Coming off only a seven point performance last weekend against Boston College, Miami guard Gal Raviv got to work early, dropping the game’s opening five points.
Stanford would take an 11-10 lead with 1:38 remaining in the first quarter, but it would mark the last time the Cardinal held the lead as Miami would retake the lead and never look back.
The Canes placed all five starters in double figures, as Raviv led the way with 19 points.
“[Raviv] sees the game better than anyone else on the team,” Cullop said. “She did a tremendous job of getting us into the actions we needed to do … leading us to victory.”
Center Ra Shya Kyle secured her fourth double-double in a row with her 11-point, 14-rebound performance, her 17th on the year.
Kimpson, Natalie Wetzel and Ahnay Adams would put up 14,12 and 10 respectively.
The effort from the starting five proved crucial for Miami, sparing the blunders of a zero-point bench performance.
And when the Canes needed it most, the offense took charge, unleashing a 22-point fourth quarter to ice the game.
Culture.
Despite being wedged in the bottom half of the ACC standings, this Hurricane team simply doesn’t know when to quit.
It’s a tenacious bunch who battle for loose balls and do everything in their power to disrupt an opposing offense.
The Canes caused havoc on the defensive end with their full court press, forcing 17 turnovers and never letting the Cardinal offense get into a rhythm.
“I’m really proud of our defense tonight,” Cullop said. “They paid attention to detail … made it tough for [Stanford] to get into a flow.”
Stanford struggled from the field, shooting only 31.7% and a 14.3% from beyond the arc.
Guard Hailee Swain was one of only two Cardinal on the night in double figures, her 16 points a lone bright spot for Stanford.
Adams in particular was one of the defenders all over the court for Miami, notching three steals alongside her ten points.
The sophomore guard continues to be a leader for Miami, who looks to her energy to jolt the side from start to finish.
Love.
With only three remaining games in the regular season for UM (14-12, 6-9 ACC), the Canes will look to ride some momentum all the way to the ACC Tournament in March.
“We understood how important this game was,” Cullop said. “Probably the best communicating game that we’ve had … the energy they gave each other made the court tremendous.”
The win launched Miami over Stanford (16-12, 5-10 ACC) into 12th in the ACC standings.
Crucial games loom for Miami against Cal, Pitt and Georgia Tech — as Cal and Georgia Tech rest just above Miami in the ACC standings.
“We want the best seed we can when we get there.”
UM will take on Cal this Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Watsco Center with coverage on ACCNX.
Cardiac Canes: Miami baseball and basketball deliver thrillers in a 30-minute span
There are few feelings greater than watching your favorite team pull out a close game, whether that be watching a last second game-winning shot or a walk-off home run in extra innings.
How about both in one night? How about watching both of them in-person in a span of a half hour?
That’s what Miami Hurricanes sports fans experienced in Coral Gables this past Tuesday night.
First pitch of the Hurricanes baseball game against UCF started at 6 p.m., while the basketball team hosted Virginia Tech with tip-off two hours later.
The basketball team came into the game with a 20-5 record, coming off wins against No. 11 UNC and a one-point comeback victory on the road against NC State. Naturally, a home basketball game as the hottest team in the ACC drew more fans than a mid-week baseball game in late February.
The Canes baseball team found themselves in a 5-0 deficit entering the bottom of the eighth inning, while the hoops game had turned into a tight back-and-fourth affair.
Many fans started to leave Mark Light Field to catch the end of a thriller at the Watsco Center. But just as fans started to head across campus, Jake Ogden sent a ball over the fence for the Hurricanes, cutting the deficit to three entering the ninth.
“I was thinking of leaving for the basketball game,” freshman student Adam Wilson said. “But I knew there would be a crazy comeback if I left, so I decided to stay for the last couple of innings.”
Those “couple” innings ended in a 13-inning, five hour marathon.
The ninth inning held more magic for the Canes fans who decided to stick it out. Three batters were hit by pitches to load the bases. The next batter, Vance Sheahan, was then nicked on the elbow, sending in a run.
Down to their last out, Michael Torres laced a single into left field, scoring two runs to tie the game and sending the game into extra innings.
As the game went into extras, basketball entered crunch time at the Watsco Center.
With five minutes left, the score was locked at 59. As the Hokies seemed to start pulling away, a three-pointer from Tre Donaldson tied it up once again at 66 with 1:18 to go.
Over at Mark Light, the Hurricanes found themselves in a hole once again entering the bottom of the 11th. Down one with two outs, star third baseman Daniel Cuvet was down in the count 0-2.
After having a slow start in the first series against Lehigh, Cuvet lived up to his Preseason First-Team All-American potential, tattooing a game-tying 435-foot solo home run to left center field. Cuvet’s second home run of the season extended the game once more.
As the game rolled into the 12th inning, the Hurricanes had possession at the Watsco Center with 15 seconds to go. The ball was in the hands of Donaldson, who scored a career-high 32 points on the night. As he drove to his right, he was hit hard by Tobi Lawal, drawing a crucial foul.
The crowd went silent as Donaldson went to the free throw line with 12 seconds on the clock. After nailing the first one, his second shot rimmed out, giving the Hokies a chance.
With four seconds left, Ben Hammond drove to the lane, tossing up a desperate layup, which bounced around the hoop before finally rolling out. The crowd erupted as the Canes had earned themselves a huge one-point win.
At the same time, Canes baseball entered the 13th inning against the Knights.
Fans poured into the stadium, coming straight over from the Watsco Center. Ponce De Leon Parking Garage, which overlooked the stadium, filled with Hurricanes fans. After a UCF run was scored, fans jeered for the Canes, trying to power them to another come-from-behind win.
Fueled by the revived energy of the crowd, Alonzo Alvarez smacked a double into right field, bringing up Sheahan with a chance to win it.
With fans leaning over the rails from the parking lot, and the student section looking bigger than it had all year, Sheahan launched a ball deep to left field through the muggy Miami air.
Fans erupted as the ball pinged off the scoreboard, giving The U their second dramatic victory within 30 minutes.
For a school criticised for lack of sports spirit, the Canes crowd certainly showed it on a historic Tuesday night.
Student Government results, shuttle DUI arrest, and book policy controversy
In this episode, we break down three major stories from the University of Miami community:
Student Government Election Results: The “For U” ticket won the 2026–27 Student Government executive election, with Fernando Sepulveda Sagaseta elected president, Aaron Gonzales as vice president, and Dylan Hall as treasurer. Each candidate secured a slight majority in a turnout of just over 3,000 student votes.
Shuttle Driver DUI Arrest: A University of Miami shuttle driver, identified as Timothy Kowalewski, was arrested on DUI charges after allegedly driving erratically and crashing the shuttle while transporting students. He’s facing multiple driving-under-the-influence charges, including damage to property or person, and refused sobriety tests, according to police reports.
Book Policy Controversy: A new book-banning proposal in Florida has sparked debate among students and faculty at UM. The proposal would broaden state authority over removing books from school libraries — a move that critics argue could increase censorship and restrict access to diverse literature
New Academic Provost promises career services upgrade at Student Senate meeting
The University of Miami’s new Academic Provost Joel Hassman Samuels joined the Student Senate for the first time to answer its burning questions about issues affecting students across UM on Wednesday, Feb. 18. The general body meeting was open to anyone who wished to attend.
“Engaging with student government is a huge priority for me,” Samuels told the Senate. “I desperately miss teaching, and student government is a group I would love to spend time with to fill that gap.”
Samuels joined UM on Aug. 11, 2025, after serving as the Dean for the College of Arts at Sciences at the University of South Carolina since 2021.
Speaker of the Senate Alexei Darling led most of the Senate’s questioning. Samuels wasted no time in getting to the point: UM’s career services need a lot of work.
“I want UM to have one of the top five 5 career services in the country in the next five years,” he said. “Toppel Career Center does great work, but it has a very small staff, and UM’s career services focus only on the student’s first job, not their whole career.”
Samuels promised to reorient UM’s career services to focus on students’ careers and futures “from the day you are admitted,” saying he is committed to invest an additional $2 million and hiring additional staff to further this goal. He also teased that he is in the process of bringing in a candidate to lead these efforts to improve UM’s career services. While he would not name the candidate just yet, he said he wants to arrange a special session between the Senate and the candidate once they have been hired.
Senators asked Samuels how else he planned to improve UM’s career services. Samuels credited Dr. Patricia Whitely with providing some help in this area, while also mentioning his close working relationship with Toppel’s staff, efforts to improve alumni and employer engagement and bringing in elements of AI into the space.
The Provost also discussed the pending changes to cognates at UM. He confirmed that while there is a desire to change how cognates work among UM faculty and administration members, he does not want to make changes without accommodating for students who want to pursue double or triple majors or dual degree programs, which would be inhibited by changes to cognates such as the removal of individualized cognates. Samuels said that, realistically, no changes will be made to the cognate system for at least two to three years.
“Nothing is happening yet,” Samuels said. “The question here is, how do we make changes without compromising students’ ability to pursue those double and triple majors, which is such a unique aspect of UM? No one has shown me a solution yet, and the Faculty Senate might not even agree at first if and when we find one.”
Alexa Young-Tem contributed to the reporting of this article.
I won the Ticketmaster war, but at what cost?
I joined more than 30 Ticketmaster queues across a two week period in an attempt to get tickets to Harry Styles’ Madison Square Garden residency set to begin this August.
More often than not, tickets sell out before I even reach the front of the queue. A few times, I was able to get into the sale with a few dozen tickets still available. There was only one problem; a majority of the tickets left cost more than $700 each, which was a price I could not afford, even for my favorite artist.
On one of the last days of presales, I got extremely lucky and found two upper bowl seats listed for $100.50 each. I’m glad to say that I will be attending Styles’ ‘Together, Together tour’ on Oct. 30.
However, hundreds of thousands — maybe even millions — of fans were not as lucky as I was.
The monopoly Ticketmaster currently holds over event ticketing is ruining the live music experience.
Ticketmaster’s dominance over the live music industry is not accidental. After merging with Live Nation in 2010 to form Live Nation Entertainment, Inc., the company gained control over not only ticket sales, but also over concert promotion and venue operations.
Today, Live Nation Entertainment controls ticketing for most major venues and tours in the United States, leaving fans with few viable alternatives. This means for most large concerts and tours, Ticketmaster is not just the preferred option, but the only one.
Ticketmaster is notorious for jacking up ticket prices by implementing something called “dynamic pricing.” Depending on the demand for an event, ticket prices can skyrocket. Prices adjust in real time, sometimes leaving thousands of tickets costing upwards of $1,000.
This pricing strategy feels more like a punishment for being a dedicated fan.
According to information posted by Ticketmaster before presales started, dynamic pricing was supposed to be turned off for this tour. However, fans were greeted with “platinum pricing” for nearly every sale. This meant tickets in the lower bowl were around almost $1,000 each.
Hundreds of thousands of fans joined the queues for every sale, competing for less than 20,000 seats per night in Madison Square Garden.
But, as long as fans continue to buy tickets through Ticketmaster, the company has no incentive to change. Even with all of the commotion around prices, every seat is consistently sold out.
Ticketmaster profits whether fans are angry or not. Complaining about Ticketmaster has simply become part of the concert-going experience. With no competition, the unfortunate reality is that the company will continue to win.
“I am so mad,” said freshman Colette Couillard, who attempted to purchase Harry Styles tickets. “I did every single presale and still didn’t get a ticket.”
Couillard has experience purchasing tickets for multiple different tours and events through Ticketmaster. In the past, she said she has not had many issues getting tickets to events, but it was different this time around.
“I did the whole Eras Tour thing which was crazy, and Olivia Rodrigo presale” she said. “Usually I have good luck but these Harry Styles tickets were INSANE.”
However, Ticketmaster is not the only ticketing platform that has given her trouble. Couillard attempted to sell her Ultra Music Festival tickets using Stub Hub, but they did not want to pay her until she contacted the Better Business Bureau.
“They wouldn’t give me my money until I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and called them for a total of 16 hours.”
Fans are yet again faced with the decision to either purchase verified tickets for ridiculous prices through Ticketmaster, or suffer any potential consequences of trying to buy through a third party like Stub Hub.
According to Serona Elton, Professor and Chair of Music Industry and Interim Vice Dean of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, there are several reasons that it seems so difficult to buy a concert ticket.
The main reason is that there are simply not enough tickets available to the number of people who want to buy them.
“It is basic supply and demand,” Elton said. “As a society, we place a high value on experiences and don’t want to feel left out. For the most successful artists, like Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, and Beyoncé, the demand for tickets is virtually insatiable, and so it is a given that some people will not be able to secure tickets.”
The other big reason why people are increasingly unable to buy tickets is because of bots. Ticket brokers operate bots that are able to get in front of real people trying to buy tickets. Brokers then resell the tickets for much higher prices than the price originally bought for them.
“We could do more to stop them, like passing stronger laws, and better enforcing the laws we do have on the books already to prevent their behavior,” Elton said.
The blame should not fall on fans. Ticketmaster controls access to the artists and experiences that people care about, so opting out is not a realistic choice for many. Fans become trapped in a cycle that prioritizes profit over experience.
The long term health of live music depends on ticket revenue staying within the ecosystem that sustains it. Until meaningful regulation or real competition exists, Ticketmaster will continue to profit. Not because fans are satisfied, but because they have nowhere else to go.
However, there is some hope.
In May of 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice, along with more than 30 state attorneys general, filed an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation-Ticketmaster. The lawsuit alleges that the company unlawfully monopolizes ticketing and other related live entertainment markets.
Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission and seven states sued Ticketmaster and Live Nation in September 2025, alleging that Ticketmaster used deceptive pricing tactics to mislead fans and artists about fees.
If these lawsuits are successful, the company could be forced to loosen or end exclusive venue contracts, face stricter pricing rules or even be broken up to restore competition. While high ticket demand would still be here to stay, a legal victory would weaken Ticketmaster’s control over the industry.
This would put some of the power back into artists’ and fans’ hands.
Miami Athletics are ON FIRE: Recapping a Huge Week for Men’s Hoops and Baseball
Men’s basketball and baseball are on a roll and coming off a legendary Tuesday night for Miami athletics. Liam and Zach recap a phenomenal basketball season under first-year head coach Jai Lucas and preview what lies ahead for the ‘Canes as they look to secure a March Madness bid in the final weeks of the regular season.
Baseball began its season 4-0 after a record-breaking opening day series and a walk-off extra-inning classic against UCF. The boys explain what’s in store for the Hurricanes as they enter the spring season nationally ranked and hungry to reach the College World Series for the first time since 2016.
The ‘For U’ student government ticket secures 2026 election win
The “For U” student government ticket won the 2026 Student Government executive election over the UNITED ticket on Thursday, Feb. 19, at Lakeside Patio.
Junior Fernando Sepulveda Sagaseta was announced as president-elect along with his running mates junior Aaron Gonzales as vice-president elect and junior Dylan Hall as treasurer elect for the 2026-2027 academic year.
A total of 3,099 students voted in the 2026 election. Hall was announced as treasurer after receiving 50.51% of the 3,080 student votes. Gonzales received 50.76% of the 3,081 votes. Sepulveda Sagaseta received 51.94% of the 3,082 votes.
Sepulveda Sagaseta expressed his excitement about the complete For U ticket winning, saying that it would help them accomplish their goals more easily.
“I can’t believe the whole ticket won. We’re super happy,” said Sepulveda Sagaseta. “I mean, that’s honestly what we were hoping for. Like, we ran on a clear vision and I think having the whole ticket together is going to allow us to hit the ground running and start getting our initiatives accomplished.”
Hall expressed similar excitement, especially given how close the race was.
“It was close. I knew it was going to be close,” Hall said. “I’m very happy with how things turned out and I just want to wish everyone congratulations. It’s been a hard week and half but I’m so proud of everyone for doing it.”
On Instagram, the For U campaign targeted three main areas of student experience at UM: academics, community and student life.
“We want to make this place the best it can be,” said Sepulveda Sagaseta. “We ran our campaign as being ‘for you’ and ‘U being back’ and our sports teams are playing their part and now, hopefully student government is too.”
Gonzales also shared his drive to get started right away.
“Now it’s time for the real work,” Gonzales said. “I am still continuing in my role as director of university affairs for the current year, and am excited to get a jump start on our campaign’s initiatives before inauguration even happens in that role.”
Keira Faddis contributed to the reporting for this article.
Miami takes down Indiana State in midweek matchup 6-2
Following the high of a 13-inning walk-off two-run home run from USC Upstate transfer Vance Sheahan on Tuesday night, Miami put together a complete showing to take down Indiana State 6-2 on Wednesday evening at Mark Light Field.
Freshman left-hander Sebastian Santos-Olson made his first career start. The Port Chester, N.Y. native went 4.2 innings, struck out six batters, and gave up two runs on five hits.
Indiana State chose to use an opener in Wednesday’s night matchup, deploying Ty Brooks to throw a scoreless two innings of work before being taken out of the ballgame.
The Hurricanes struck first in the fourth. Sophomore Mikey Torres stood on third while Alex Sosa stood on second. The scorching hot bat of Derek Williams, hit a sac-fly to score Torres and advanced Sosa to third.
A batter later, freshman catcher Alonzo Alvarez hit his fourth double in less than a week that landed Sosa on home, giving the Canes a 2-0 lead.
Indiana State’s two-out rally propelled them to tie the game in the top of the fifth. With Jorge Cartagena standing on second after a walk and a stolen base, Emil Estrella doubled to right field.
Third baseman Nick Sutherland then roped a ball up the middle that allowed Estrella to touch home. The score was tied at two through five innings.
Senior pitcher Rob Evans made his first appearance of the season out of the bullpen, and was introduced to a handful of cheers and applause. Despite giving up a hit and a walk, Evans got out of his inning if work cleanly
Alvarez continued to shine in the batters box, slamming a home run to left field to give Miami the 3-2 advantage in the seventh.
UM added insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth. On an 0-1 count, junior slugger Daniel Cuvet hit a ball in the right field gap to score Torres from first.
Williams followed up Cuvet by hitting a blistering line drive over the left field fence to push the score to 6-2.
The Sycamores used three pitchers in the eighth inning and eight total in their 6-2 loss.
On the Hurricanes side of the ‘pen, Lazaro Collera pitched an inning which could shake up the weekend rotation as he started against Lehigh last Saturday.
Richmond transfer Ryan Bilka came into the ninth inning and struck out two out of his three batters faced to end the game.
Miami (5-0) will look to keep the winning spirits alive as it will start a four-game series against the Lafayette Leopards. First pitch at Mark Light Field is set for 7 p.m. on Friday.
UNITED hopes to be your next leaders
The UNITED campaign is composed of presidential candidate Jaell-Ann Auguste, vice presidential candidate Alex Barrowclough and treasurer candidate Grace Wheeling. The ticket is running on a platform centered around unity, mentorship and student advocacy at the University of Miami.
“Outreach has been my thing since freshman year,” Auguste said. “I’ve always made it a goal to reach as many communities as possible since I stepped foot on campus.”
Auguste is a first generation finance major, who describes herself as a driven student and leader in her community. She is committed to inclusion and student advocacy, demonstrated by her involvements on campus.
As Director of Outreach for Student Government, she has been able to strengthen connections between student organizations while also amplifying student voices across campus.
She is also a founder and president of the Belonging in Business Program, an initiative focused on “providing networking opportunities for people of color with professionals who mirror their undergraduate experiences.”
If elected as president, Auguste said she would be dedicated to building a more united, accessible, and collaborative campus experience for all University of Miami students.
“Being president would just allow me to do that on a larger scale, and to make more change than I could ever dream of for these students. I want to make sure we’re ALL United,” Auguste said.
Running alongside her is Alex Barrowclough, a political science major on the pre-law track. He currently serves on the Advisory Board of the President’s 100 as the Scheduling Chair and Major Events Chair.
In this role, he oversees large-scale programming, logistics and member engagement for university admissions. He is also a second-year Project Coordinator, and is completing his third consecutive year on Student Government’s First-Year Leadership Council.
“After my third year working with the First Year Leadership Council and second year as a Project Coordinator, I am excited about the opportunity to serve as vice president, overseeing the work and direction of FLC and working on campus life initiatives” said Barrowclough, candidate for vice president with the UNITED ticket.
As vice president, he would oversee the FLC, a program focused on cultivating leadership among first-year students. Through his involvement, Barrowclough has partnered with past vice presidents and worked directly with students to support their leadership and professional development.
Beyond his on-campus involvements, he has served in professional human resources roles, supporting team development, operational efficiency and organizational culture.
He said his experience spans recruitment processes, training systems, internal communications and retention strategies, “bringing a people-first approach to leadership across both professional and student settings.”
Wheeling hopes to serve as your next student body treasurer. She is a Miami native with five generations of local legacy. She is a pre-dental student who is dedicated to service, leadership and academic mentorship.
Her student government involvements include service on the First-Year Leadership Council and the Campus Liaison Council.
She also founded Global Dental Brigades, where she serves as its founding president. The organization is devoted to international dental care initiatives, which she said are achieved through “strategic resource allocation, comprehensive fundraising and responsible financial oversight.”
In a promotional video posted to the @Unitedforsg Instagram account, Wheeling said, “I understand the significance of turning passion into real impact on campus, and that’s why I want to serve as your treasurer.”
If elected as treasurer, she wants to “make funding more accessible, transparent and empowering for all student organizations on campus.”
Additionally, Wheeling is a workshop leader in the Peer-Led Team Learning program and a teaching assistant for First Year Directions, guiding students as they adjust to college life.
She is an active member of campus Greek Life, where she recently completed her term as Vice President of Member Development for Alpha Delta Pi, where she was recognized with the R. Marilyn Jones Memorial Scholarship. Wheeling was also tapped into Order of Omega, being recognized for her leadership excellence.
Should the campaign be elected, the team has come up with a few different priority initiatives.
From expanding campus dining access and Freebee services to improving Wi-Fi around campus, the UNITED ticket plans to turn these priorities into measurable action.
“We stand UNITED as one, prepared to serve the ‘Canes community in every aspect,” the team shared on Instagram.
Voting ends tonight at 11:59 p.m., with results being announced Thursday afternoon. Students can vote via Engage.
For U hopes to be your next leaders
The For U campaign — composed of presidential candidate Fernando Sepulveda Sagaseta, vice presidential candidate Aaron Gonzales and treasurer candidate Dylan Hall — is running on nearly ten years of combined experience, and what they call a commitment to meeting students where they are.
For junior Sepulveda Sagaseta, the path to running for student body president was not immediately clear. He is an international student from Mexico, studying business analytics and innovation, technology and design.
His journey in student government began his freshman year on the First-Year Leadership Council. He was mentored by then vice president Angela Ansah, and worked his way up through the ranks of student government.
Sepulveda Sagaseta eventually served on the academic liaison council, where he was a college of engineering liaison.
“I’ve pretty much grown up a little bit in student government,” Sepulveda Sagaseta said. “ For the most part, this is like a completely new experience to me.”
He currently serves as chief of staff for student government while also serving as Engineering Student Council president. It was because of his experience as Engineering Student Council president that he decided to run for Student Government president.
“It became very apparent very quickly to me that there were a lot of areas on campus that had their own thing going on,” Sepulveda Sagaseta said. “And if we didn’t collaborate and we didn’t unite those two worlds, that we weren’t really servicing all students as well as we could be.”
That emphasis on unity is central to the For U platform. Their campaign is focused on three pillars: academics, student life and community. They also hope to make students feel represented and proud to vote.
“This campaign has been all about bringing in voters who don’t really think student government is there for them or not advocating for them,” Sepulveda Sagaseta said. “We’re looking to change that.”
The campaign has drawn support from leaders across campus organizations. Parker Osth, the chair of the Association of Greek Letter Organizations, said For U was the first campaign to reach out and collaborate with Greek leadership.
“They are the first campaign in SG I have seen in my time at UM to extend that olive branch to our community,” Osth said. “They have been doing the groundwork in building consensus for all of campus, not just the typical organizations.”
Osth is a member of the For U campaign, and has helped connect the campaign to the over 4,000 students involved in Greek life. He also collaborated in building the campaign’s graphic identity.
Gonzales, a junior from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, is studying legal studies with a minor in sports administration. He currently serves as director of University Affairs, overseeing the Campus Liaison Council. The CLC negotiates directly with administration in areas such as dining, parking, housing and transportation.
Through CLC, Gonzales said he has worked on initiatives such as installing shuttle stop covers, expanding Freebee routes to reach high traffic places like Trader Joe’s and Vox. He has also worked on coordinating the distribution of umbrellas to first year students, which will begin next school year.
“We work directly with the highest level of administration to discuss student issues to come to solutions,” Gonzales said. “[Members of the For U ticket] have the experience and the ideas to put into action and actually make changes to the campus.”
Although he does not have personal experience on the FLC, he has been able to work with freshmen CLC members as a mentor. A major focus for Gonzales is continuing student life improvements and mentoring future leaders through the First-Year Leadership Council, which the vice president oversees.
Hall, a triple major in finance, business technology and sustainable business, brings a financial background to the ticket. She currently serves as community relations coordinator for the Student Activities Fee Allocation Committee and works as a finance intern with Student Activities and Student Affairs at UM. She is also the treasurer of Women in Business.
“I’ve seen how important financial literacy and advocacy are, especially for underprivileged groups,” Hall said. “Seeing the direct impact it can have on these communities is what motivated me to run.”
Hall said her experience reviewing and allocating student organization budgets has highlighted concerns about funding structures, particularly for ‘umbrella organizations’ who must divide their allocation among multiple sub-groups.
“It’s not just about increasing the funding,” Hall said. “It’s about representation.”
If elected, the ticket’s immediate priorities include working toward 24-hour access at Richter Library, expanding dining options and hours — especially on weekends and late nights — integrating Cane Cards into Apple Wallet and increasing student ticket capacity at athletic events.
Sepulveda Sagesta said beginning conversations about 24-hour library access would be a “day one” priority to ensure implementation by next academic year.
Beyond specific initiatives, the ticket emphasizes transparency and accessibility. Sepulveda Sagesta said he plans to maintain an open-door policy, including a public calendar link for students to schedule a meeting with him directly.
“I think the mistake Student Government makes very often is expecting students to come to us,” he said. “It’s our responsibility to go to them.”
While Sepulveda Sagesta said a win would make him incredibly proud, more than anything, it would make him feel “a sense of responsibility to start getting things done.”
But, regardless of the outcome, he encouraged students to vote and engage with the election process.
“We want to be representative of all students,” he said. “The best way to do that is to vote, and then share your ideas.”
Voting ends tonight at 11:59 p.m., with results being announced Thursday afternoon. Students can vote via Engage.