The staff editorial board represents the opinion of The Flat Hat. The Flat Hat remains committed to objective and unbiased reporting. This article is separate from any and all coverage of the Student Assembly elections.
Thursday, March 26, students at the College of William and Mary will vote for the next Student Assembly president and vice president.
There are several concerns related to diversity attacks and student rights that the next ticket will confront as student leaders. For one, the next SA president and vice president will confront student uncertainty over increased surveillance with the newest Flock cameras and ZeroEyes software. Tuesday, March 24, the SA Senate will decide if a referendum on ZeroEyes surveillance will appear on the ballot. Moreover, there are continued concerns with the national government’s growing scrutiny over college campuses.
The Flat Hat has chosen to endorse Nico Giro-Martin ’27 and Sophie Kennedy ’27 for SA president and vice president. This year, the ticket for student body president and vice president is uncontested. Philip Matijevic ’27 briefly ran for president but changed his candidacy to be for the class of 2027 senator.
The Editorial Board conducted in-depth interviews with Giro-Martin and Kennedy, researched their platform and observed their March 23 town hall. Based on these evaluations, the Editorial Board believes Giro-Martin and Kennedy will be successful if elected by the student body.
Both Giro-Martin and Kennedy have served in SA since their freshman years. Giro-Martin has served as the class of 2027 president since 2023, when he first ran as a freshman. Kennedy became a class of 2027 senator in March 2024 through an interim appointment following the vacancies of two former senators at the time. She served in that position until April 2025, choosing not to run again since she would be away from campus fall 2025 to study abroad. Since then, she has served as an undersecretary for health and safety.
The Editorial Board appreciated Giro-Martin and Kennedy’s knowledge of SA and areas for improvement. Throughout the interview, the candidates understood the confines of SA and were realistic in their approach to pressing issues. Their initiatives are long-term, and the candidates hope that these initiatives will last beyond their own administration.
Student Life
On the topic of hazing, the Editorial Board finds the data-led approach advocated by Giro-Martin-Kennedy to be especially promising. The best way to address hazing on campus is to first understand the extent of the problem, not just at the College, but also across the country. To put into effect a successful anti-hazing campaign, it is also imperative to have the most current numbers on who is being affected. These numbers will become accessible to SA through a University of Maine-led survey that the College is a part of.
Along with this survey, the Editorial Board appreciates the fact that their campaign does not fall into generalizations and stereotypes around hazing and its relationship with Fraternity and Sorority Life, acknowledging that it is also a prevalent issue in other registered student organizations and therefore requires a broad-based campaign to prevent.
The Editorial Board also appreciates the Giro-Martin-Kennedy campaign’s acknowledgement of the contributions that student athletes make to the overall community, along with their commitment to furthering initiatives that encourage student attendance at sports games. Even with the College’s academic reputation, it is important to maintain a well-rounded balance that includes athletics and arts.
While an acknowledgement of the role that athletics play in the College community is an important step, the Editorial Board would have liked to hear more about the specific initiatives that the ticket had in mind to turn that commitment into a reality. The Editorial Board believes that general references to social media outreach, while a convenient and potentially impactful medium, do not go far enough.
Building on this, their campaign’s detail on how to make student-athlete voices heard in SA stood out. Formalizing and institutionalizing Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) representation within SA is an actionable and impactful move.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Editorial Board was content with Giro-Martin and Kennedy’s strong commitment to diversity and inclusion initiatives at the College. During a period in United States history where diversity and inclusion programs are under direct and indirect attacks by the federal government, the candidates maintained their commitment to support students.
The candidates stressed that they would not shy away from concerns over potential funding cuts and attacks on the College’s existing diversity and inclusion infrastructure. Giro-Martin and Kennedy acknowledged fears about Immigration and Customs Enforcement on college campuses, and the board was impressed that the two had already discussed this issue with Associate Vice President for Public Safety Cliff Everton ’96. The Board appreciates that the candidates hope to communicate information about diversity and inclusion issues and materials more clearly with the student body. They hope to release diversity and inclusion research completed at the College that is not shown to students, and they plan to distribute ICE information cards around campus to quell fears about agents on campus.
Although Giro-Martin and Kennedy do not seek to make sweeping or radical changes to DEI institutions given their limited legislative capacities, the Board was satisfied with their strong commitment to diversity and inclusion.
Health and Safety
Giro-Martin and Kennedy emphasize an educational approach to health and safety, particularly in terms of pedestrian safety. In collaboration with Everton, Giro-Martin and Kennedy plan to develop an educational campaign for the College community members focused on pedestrian and bicycle safety. Additionally, the candidates highlighted safety concerns regarding Gooch Drive behind the Green and Gold Village, which currently lacks a sidewalk. The specific policy approach and timeline for these improvements remain unclear.
The Board appreciates Giro-Martin and Kennedy’s familiarity with SA’s health and safety initiatives. Giro-Martin pushed for legislation to install lighting at the crosswalk on Jamestown Road in March 2024. As undersecretary for health and safety, Kennedy has played a large role in advancing initiatives such as Take Back the Night, which uplifts survivor voices, and the Period Project, which supplies free menstrual products at various locations around campus. Kennedy expressed interest in institutionalizing the Period Project, particularly in light of ongoing setbacks related to maintaining a consistent supply of products. However, neither candidate outlined specific steps for the implementation of this process.
Giro-Martin and Kennedy highlighted promoting pre-existing resources on campus, including the College’s Student Health Center, the Haven and student organizations.
Policy and Student Rights
In the realm of policy and student rights, Giro-Martin and Kennedy present a platform grounded in both advocacy and practicality. Their approach to free expression, particularly in the context of protests, emphasizes a careful balance between protecting speech and maintaining student safety. Rather than deciding thresholds for what constitutes harmful speech, they favor a responsive model of ensuring safety through coordination with campus resources while addressing conflict as it arises. They paired this approach with a preventative vision, including expanded education on protest and immigration rights and the institutionalization of clear, accessible communication to students. At its strongest, this framework recognizes that protecting rights is not only reactive but also dependent on how well students understand those rights in the first place.
In areas like Title IX, Giro-Martin and Kennedy are candid about the limits of student government in reshaping formal adjudication processes, instead emphasizing advocacy to the administration and increased clarity in existing procedures. Their focus on transparency, such as simplifying reporting steps and improving resource access, is meaningful, especially given widespread student confusion. Their proposals regarding the William and Mary Police Department center accountability and communication, aiming to demystify procedures and inform students of their legal protections. While this emphasis on accessibility is valuable and echoed by many of their predecessors, it remains to be seen whether it will translate into tangible oversight mechanisms.
Giro-Martin and Kennedy hold a nuanced perspective on surveillance and expressed their willingness to learn more about the issue. The campaign acknowledged that they are not fully aware of the software, and they connected that to how many students on campus are similarly unaware. For this reason, Giro-Martin will not be voting for the referendum to appear on the ballot on Thursday, as students need time to learn about the software first. However, the ticket expressed that if it were to appear on Thursday, they trust the Independent Elections Commission in its decision to hold the referendum, as it is ultimately that body’s purview.
Giro-Martin and Kennedy emphasize transparency above all else, arguing that students deserve clear information about what data is being collected, where it is stored and how it is used. Giro-Martin cited an existing strong partnership with Everton to install crosswalk lights on Jamestown Road and hopes to use that relationship to further information dissemination to students.
The ticket mentioned its working relationship with multiple administrators, and is optimistic to start at a higher baseline in this relationship rather than ground zero. However, in conversation with the candidates, the Editorial Board would have liked Giro-Martin-Kennedy to proactively confront a reality where they may need to push back against administration members in instances where student interests misalign with college policy visions.
Ultimately, Giro-Martin and Kennedy’s policy and student rights platform reflect a broader philosophy that the student government’s greatest strength lies in education and advocacy rather than unilateral action. They are realistic and have a commitment to transparency (including around surveillance practices and internal accountability), which signals an awareness of student skepticism and a desire to build trust.
Public Affairs
The Editorial Board appreciated Giro-Martin and Kennedy’s proposals for improving off-campus housing and maintaining a strong relationship with the College and the City of Williamsburg. The two shared their hope for students continuing to run for Williamsburg City Council, which the Editorial Board admired, as well as the emphasis the pair wishes to place on highlighting events around the City’s community, specifically the Council forums. However, their platform remains vague on exact details. For off-campus housing options, the Editorial Board appreciated the pair’s proposal to petition landlords for an expansion of the three-person rule, allowing houses with adequate space to legally accommodate more students.
This being said, the Editorial Board holds concerns over part of this platform. On their campaign website, the two state their hope to collaborate with students, college leadership and neighbors to reduce tensions for students living off-campus. When asked for specifics, Giro-Martin and Kennedy focused more on maintaining stable relationships between the Student Assembly, leadership from the College and officials from the City rather than outlining concrete proposals to address students’ problems with off-campus housing.
Academics
The Editorial Board appreciates Giro-Martin and Kennedy’s dedication to turning students’ wishes to have access to class syllabi during the registration process into reality. The Editorial Board believes that this reform would make class registration more efficient, hopefully providing students with a greater chance of getting the classes they are most interested in or need for their major or minor.
While appreciating the potential benefits of this reform, concern remains on one specific point — the balance between students’ desires and protecting professors in the current reality of higher education we experience. Professors today are facing scrutiny for the content they teach and the readings they assign to students. At a liberal arts institution like the College that is focused on educating and empowering its students, the Editorial Board believes that faculty should be able to do so without the fear of falling victim to political agendas, no matter where they may originate from.
Another aspect of the Giro-Martin-Kennedy agenda that the Editorial Board admires is the approach they advocate when it comes to student mental health. The reality is that at an academically rigorous institution like the College, students will experience stressful moments. This makes it even more important, not only that they have resources available to them, but that they know where to find them and feel comfortable seeking that help. The campaign’s advocacy for standardized mental health days during the semester is a reform that the Editorial Board believes would be effective and actionable. That advocacy, on top of promoting the resources available to students during freshman orientation, demonstrates the priority that the Giro-Martin-Kennedy campaign places on the mental well-being of the College community.
While not necessarily representing a shift from current practice, the Editorial Board appreciates the Giro-Martin-Kennedy campaign’s commitment to ensuring that study abroad resources are readily available to students across a variety of media. The study abroad experience is one held dearly by the College community, making their campaign’s promotion of it even more impactful.
Data and Finance
The Editorial Board was content with the ticket’s approach to data and finance. Giro-Martin’s experience on the finance committee and with the Organization Budget Allocation Process impressed the Board. The candidates expressed their commitment to clear, transparent budgeting practices through OBAC, highlighting the organization’s success over the past three years as it increased its Recognized Student Organization funding. The two acknowledged that RSOs are often frustrated by OBAC’s budgeting processes, which can result in lost funding for organizations. While the candidates mentioned existing meetings available on request for organizations regarding funding, they did not suggest any new practices to lessen this stress. Throughout their discussion of data and finance, the candidates maintained that they would not greatly change practices from the previous administration.
The candidates stressed a desire to decrease the number of emails sent to the student body containing surveys, instead looking to other methods of data collection. The team suggested using social media to garner representative responses to improve the student body, as well as working more closely with SA’s Department of Data and Analytics. However, the candidates were unclear as to how they would achieve these goals.
Graduate Students
Giro-Martin and Kennedy promote smaller, cost-effective events to bridge the gap between graduate students and the broader College community. Giro-Martin mentioned high graduate student turnout at SA’s two free nights of ice skating for students. The pair hopes to host similar events, although neither candidate provided specific examples.
Additionally, the candidates highlighted working more directly with the Graduate Student Council. However, neither Giro-Martin nor Kennedy specified the extent of this collaboration.
Giro-Martin and Kennedy plan to implement a Graduate Student Teaching Award that will model other campus accolades. The selection process will include faculty from different graduate departments.
Sustainability
On sustainability, Giro-Martin and Kennedy present a platform that prioritizes clean trash habits and viable transportation options for students. The Editorial Board believes the pair presents a strong plan for increasing sustainability for students on and off campus. However, the Editorial Board has concerns over the lack of concrete plans to promote biking infrastructure for students.
The two plan to promote the use of special waste and e-waste bins around campus. The Editorial Board agrees with this sentiment, as currently, e-waste disposal options on the College’s campus are limited and not widely accessible to students. To increase the use of these options, Giro-Martin and Kennedy hope to collaborate with the outreach department to create educational materials. They also emphasized the importance of clear communication, promoting sustainable trash through class emails and updates. The Editorial Board admires the clarity of the pair’s plans for this piece of their platform, representing realistic goals they believe can be accomplished.
The Editorial Board appreciated Giro-Martin and Kennedy’s honesty regarding the shortcomings of public transportation options. The pair highlighted the Williamsburg Area Transit Authority’s more limited hours on weekends, particularly on the route to the Evans Graduate Complex. The Editorial Board admires that Giro-Martin and Kennedy stressed student activism in bringing WATA meetings and town halls to campus.
Looking Ahead
The Editorial Board encourages students to review the candidates’ platform and vote Thursday, March 26 via TribeLink or the voting link sent to students’ emails.
CORRECTION (03/24/26): Article was updated by Mona Garimella, the Editor-in-Chief, to clarify Kennedy served as a class senator until April 2025 and did not re-run for any position.
