New leadership was sworn in and old leadership said goodbye at Monday night’s Students’ Association meeting.
Newly elected SA President, Sophie Spier, and Vice President, Wesley Siira, were sworn in on April 7 to lead the SDSU student body for the 2025-2026 academic year.
Spier is a freshman pre-pharmacy major. Spier and Siira’s campaign motto was “Building on progress, brick by brick.” They hope to accomplish their three main initiatives: improvements to commuter parking, starting the Blue Bridge Project, and something Spier calls executive socials.
Also sworn in was Spier and Siira’s chosen executive board. The new executive board consists of Chief-of-staff Emma Peterson, Government Affairs chair Anna Hundt, Finance Chair Dominic Delahoyde, Diversity Liaison Matilda Alex, and Communications Chair Emily Ringgenberg.
“We had a lot of great applicants, and at the end of the day we chose the people that we felt would best serve not only the Students’ Association, but the body as a whole,” Spier said.
Senators not returning reflected on their time spent in SA in the last year and their entire careers in the senate. Trinity Peterson, who was SA president for two years, said she is grateful for the experience.
During her time as a senator and president, Peterson has seen countless initiatives pass through SA. She said installing a second scoreboard facing students in Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, establishing free period products in the Wellness Center and University Student Union, and her strategic General Activity Fund (GAF) plan have all been “passion projects” she was able to see through.
“Serving as your president has really been one of the honors of my lifetime,” she said. “I’m just really grateful for everything that we’ve been able to do, and thank you all for having me.”
After graduation this spring, Peterson plans to attend law school at Creighton University.
Also not returning to SA is former Vice President Hayden Bentz. He served as Peterson’s vice president for Peterson’s two-year presidency. He lost the presidential race this year to Spier.
“Two years, six months and 20 days ago, I first sat down at this table,” Bentz said. “Tonight it will be my last. It’s been one of my greatest honors to serve the student body of the university that I love so dearly… SA has become the defining experience of my time here at SDSU.”
Peterson and Bentz both received standing ovations.
One new club was approved at the meeting. The Bioethics Club will allow students to talk through ethical and moral issues they may face in their professional lives. Gunnar Gunderson, a senior biology major, is one of the founding members of the Bioethics Club.
“The best way to describe this club is, we want people thinking about these issues now, so when they’re encountering them in the future, they don’t have to think about them then, because they’ve already processed them a little bit,” Gunderson said. “It’s not just a smack in the face, like, ‘Whoa, I don’t even know what I think about this,’ you know?”
To learn more about the club, Gunderson suggests visiting their Instagram page, @sdsu_bioethics.
SA awards faculty and students each academic year with their campus partner of the year awards.
This year’s recipients are:
Campus Partner of the Year: Marjoanne Collins – assistant director in the office of multicultural affairs and accessibility
Professional Adviser of the Year: Amanda Wilder – Adviser from the natural resource management department
Student Organization Adviser of the Year: Traci Gislason – Adviser for Student Nurses Association
Faculty Adviser of the Year: Christine Larson – Kemp endowed professor of honors and mathematics
Senator of the Year: Oscar Garcia – diversity liaison
Ex-Officio of the Year: Alyssa Maurer – UPC vice president
