USG candidates officially kick off campaign

You’ve heard the rumors, now it’s official – Gerard Basalla and Danielle Di Scala have made a bid for Undergraduate Student Body President and Vice President.

You may be thinking “I’ve known about this for weeks, what does it mean to be ‘officially’ running?” Excellent question. This means Gerard and Danielle can now make official statements to the public about their campaign as well as their policy plans they will work towards if elected in to office.

We got to talk to the duo at the campaign kick-off and got some insight on what to expect in the upcoming weeks and possibly the 2016-2017 calendar year if they’re elected.

What made you guys decide to join USG in the first place?

Gerard: “When I got to Ohio State, I wanted to find a way to make a difference, and USG gave me the platform to work on a large scale with both policy and the student body.”

Danielle: “USG is definitely not something I saw myself joining as a freshman, but I decided to try it and it’s become my main love at Ohio State. I fell in love with the work – especially improving counseling services at Ohio State, which is what I’ve spent most of my time working on.”

With your policy plan official out there for the public, is there anything you would like to say?

Gerard: “Affordability is a top priority of mine. Saving people money at every line item – dining plans, the STEP program, and much more. On top of that, we need to do a much better job with diversity as an organization, so that’s also a top priority.”

Danielle: “I’m proud of how our policy has been shaped by every member of our team. We’ve laid the groundwork early on so that when we get in office we can get moving as quickly as possible to actual work instead of spending the first few weeks on planning.”

Lastly, what’s your favorite USG memory?

Gerard: “My favorite USG memory is the moment I learned the USG campaigns I’ve been a part of had won. Experiencing a win is incredible because you know that you have an entire year ahead of you to work really, really hard to help out OSU students”

Note: “USG campaigns” refers to Gerard’s work with both the Taylor Stepp/Josh Ahart campaign in 2013 and the Abby Grossman/Abby Waidelich campaign in 2014.

Danielle: “My favorite USG memory is the first time I met with Micky Sharma, he’s the Director of Counseling and Consultation Services. I was terrified going in, having never worked on policy before. It was really cool meeting him and realizing that I really do have power and administrators will really listen to my ideas and implement things I’ve worked on. It was a crazy moment for me, because I realized I am actually capable of making a change.”

There you have it, Gerard and Danielle have hit the scene and are currently running unopposed. So far there’s been far less drama than the U.S. presidential campaign, but maybe a Real Estate mogul will hop in and shake things up. We’ll be sure to stay up to date on the trail these coming weeks, you can learn more by following the duo on Facebook and Twitter.