Kennedy Connors and Rubi Espejo were elected SGA President and Vice President for the 2026-2027 academic year, according to an April 4 Instagram post from the candidates. 

The results followed a month of campaigning for the positions, with polls closing on April 3 at 11:45 p.m.

The race for the position of Vice President included two contenders: sophomore Lily Onorato and junior Rubi Espejo. Espejo ran alongside the current President Connors. Connors ran unopposed for reelection.

Both VP candidates’ platforms prioritized improving housing and infrastructure at UVM, but sought different methods of approaching the issue. 

Espejo focused on connecting with the entities at UVM that control the funds necessary for improving infrastructure, such as the UVM Foundation, she said. 

Comparatively, Onorato focused on a grassroots approach utilizing student housing movements and voices on campus, she said. 

Onorato is the current Speaker of the Senate for SGA. She believes that her experience as a speaker has helped her engage with neutrality and differing opinions and ideas, she said. 

Onorato said she would address housing and infrastructure by turning to student groups instead of looking to the higher-ups within the university. 

“I don’t believe that tackling campus infrastructure solely through advocacy is the most realistic way of approaching it,” she said. “I think that the failing of some campus infrastructure is a huge issue to tackle.” 

Onorato also wanted to increase SGA’s visibility to the student population and increase interactions between the two, she said.

“What we really should be doing in order to enhance the work that [SGA] has already done this year, is helping students understand what SGA can do for them, not just that SGA is here,” Onorato said.

Espejo currently serves as the Chair for the Committee on Our Common Ground Values at UVM. 

“We heard a lot of challenges from students about our infrastructure, the rest of the residential halls and the way we use the Davis Center as a student body,” Espejo said.

Along with improving housing and infrastructure, she wants to strengthen the student well-being initiatives that are available at UVM. 

This would include partnering with the Student Center for Health and Wellbeing and increasing outreach to ensure available resources are well known to students. 

“We wanted to continue the sentiment of making sure that the students’ needs are at the forefront of our minds,” Espejo said. 

Espejo wants to further the relationship between SGA and UVM faculty, which she attributed to the work of Connors and current Vice President Merrick Modun.

Connors and Modun established the importance of forming a relationship with UVM President Marlene Tromp and the rest of the UVM administration, she said.

“I intend on expanding upon that and making sure that all the work that we are doing in SGA is as clear as possible to higher levels of administration on our campus,” she said. 

Espejo worked closely with Connors and Modun during her time as Committee Chair, establishing relationships with SGA members and gaining experience, she said. 

“Through the connections I’ve made on campus, through the connections that Kennedy and I have made on campus, I feel that I am the best person to serve in this role,” she said. 

Many members of SGA approached Connors about running together for President and VP, but she ultimately chose Espejo, believing that she is best suited for the role, she said. 

“Ruby has such a unique passion for everything that she does. She has been an incredible activist throughout her three years at UVM,” Connors said.