After weeks of campaigning, student advocacy and an executive debate, the Student Government spring elections concluded April 2, with ConnectUTD winning the executive race.
Led by neuroscience and psychology double major Giana Abraham and neuroscience sophomore David Baker, ConnectUTD ran on a platform focused on connecting students with state representatives and local officials while providing resources and support to student organizations. Abraham is now the president-elect and Baker the vice president-elect, both of whom are set to take office May 1.
When discussing their immediate plans upon taking office, Abraham and Baker both expressed concern about the 89th Texas legislative session, particularly because of the various bills targeting student organizations, diversity and higher education.
“I want to help try and coordinate a response to some of the legislation that’s currently being put forward in the Texas House and Senate,” Baker said. “These bills directly impact students, and I think having a coordinated response will help to reduce the impact that these bills could have or at the very least come up with plans to help protect students if these bills were put into place.”
ConnectUTD is specifically concerned with how proposed funding cuts toward student groups related to diversity would impact the culture at UTD. Baker said he wants to begin meeting with student leaders as soon as possible to see what issues are most directly impacting students, and Abraham said she is concerned about how Texas’ actions may negatively affect large student groups on campus such as ISA, SJP, PRIDE and oStem. Abraham also wants to expand the scope of ConnectUTD’s outreach beyond just UTD.
“Considering the recent UT System drag ban, we want to reach out to schools across Texas and work on coalition building … to better prepare and coordinate a response,” Abraham said.
Abraham said that in all her time in SG, she had not seen an election as competitive as the 2025 election. The Retrograde reached out to SG’s elections board for the data behind the election results, but as of publication, no figures have been provided. Abraham said she and Baker plan on working hard to bring together the visions of ConnectUTD and Uplift UTD — the losing executive ticket — to better serve the campus community during what Abraham expects will be a challenging period for students. Abraham, however, remains hopeful about the change that could be brought to campus through inclusion.
“I want to make sure that everyone’s voice is heard and that our diversity is celebrated as we work together to make this campus a better place for everybody,” Abraham said.
The Retrograde reached out to Uplift UTD about potential plans to collaborate with ConnectUTD going forward. Uplift UTD did not respond.