USG presidential candidate Abby Grossman (right), a third-year in math education, and vice-presidential candiate Abby Waidelich, a third-year in biological engineering. Credit: Courtesy of Abby Grossman & Abby Waidelich
Undergraduate Student Government presidential candidate Abby Grossman and vice-presidential candidate Abby Waidelich are looking to become the second all-female presidential ticket in the school’s history, and they stress it will be through teamwork that they find success.
“We have 40 unbelievable senators and I cannot stress enough how hard they are working,” Grossman said. “Our tent in the Oval has six or seven people at it almost all the time. People genuinely want to be doing everything they can because they believe in this team. It’s very inspiring.”
Grossman, a third-year in education from Cleveland, has held multiple jobs at USG, including serving as the current organizational outreach director. She is also an active member of the Alpha Phi sorority, Rho chapter, serving as director of formal recruitment.
“We as a team bring a unique perspective to undergraduate students,” Grossman said. “I want to be a math teacher and Waidelich wants to be an engineer. We are in this because we want to make change for the better. We have the institutional knowledge from being in USG, we have accomplished a lot in USG so far and we just want to continue that.”
Waidelich, a third-year in biological engineering from Zionsville, Ind., also held various positions in USG and currently serves as senior director of public relations and is an active member of Kappa Delta sorority, Sigma Kappa chapter.
“We are math and engineering majors, we aren’t here to make political gains after graduation,” Waidelich said. “We are here to make changes while we are here for all OSU students. That’s the importance of this campaign.”
One way Waidelich and Grossman plan to make positive change if elected is improving on student safety.
“Our top priority is to make sure students are safe, and feel comfortable here at OSU,” Grossman said.
The safety initiative consists of a four-point plan, Grossman and Waidelich said. The plan includes mandatory safety training for incoming freshmen, enacting a Good Samaritan Law, which would provide legal protection to individuals who give reasonable assistance to others who are incapacitated or injured, increased lighting on Pearl Street and working to lower wait times for the Student Safety Service.
Another way to improve the lives of students is by making OSU more affordable, Waidelich and Grossman said. A plan to partner with an airline in order to get student discounts on airfare is a way of doing that.
“We have so many partners here at OSU, to partner with an airline is not something new,” Grossman said. “It’s been done by a few universities. To get OSU to partner with an airline that has heavy traffic in and out of the Columbus airport seems like a no-brainer.”
Though challenging and hectic at times, Grossman said she has enjoyed her time campaigning thus far.
“The past few days, and the past year really, has been such a humbling experience,” Grossman said. “I know what our team is doing isn’t for me, for Waidelich, or for themselves. It’s for the whole team and what we think we can accomplish. We never make decisions just the two of us, it’s always a team decision.”
If elected, both Grossman and Waidelich said they will stress the importance of their teamwork in overcoming challenges.
“Abby and I are one together,” Waidelich said. “Our team is one together. Having the right team in place, who are passionate about it, and are doing it for the right reasons is what we want, and that is what our team is about.”
There is one other campaign team running in this year’s USG election: Michelle Bennett is running for president with Noel Fisher, who is running for vice president.
USG voting will begin at noon on Monday and conclude at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday. The ballot will be available at usg.osu.edu.
