Simms Sonet

By Kassondra Granata

 Simms Sonet, a candidate for next year’s President of the Student Government Association says that it’s time for the SGA to get “down and dirty.”

“Being a representative. I want to be a bold voice,” says Simms Sonet.

“If I am SGA President I am hoping to make SGA have a much larger role, not just with student life committee,” says Sonet, who is currently the chair. “I am not talking about what I want to do, what I want to do is sit there and listen. Senate never asks ‘why?’”

Sonet, a communication major, joined the SGA last year as a freshman.

“I was in student government in high school and I was always interested in politics,” Sonet says. “I always tried to be involved and I’ve always tried to be informed. When I came here for my orientation, I immediately asked how I could get involved. I just wanted to join the minute I got here.”

Sonet says that he originally planned on going to CCSU for two years and then transfer to NYU.

“I wanted to get the hell out of here, but then I got involved,” Sonet says laughing.

Sen. Bobby Berriault says that Sonet would be “an excellent choice” for SGA president.

“Sonet has been working hard,” Berriault says. “He knows a lot of people and really cares deeply about the people here at the University. He wants to work on making this a better place for all. I encourage everyone to vote for Sonet.”

Since he has joined SGA, Sonet has participated in many different activities on campus. Aside from the senate, Sonet was the president of his residence hall, worked on freshman survival packs, debated on the hot spot ordinances and ran a successful food drive.

Competition for a Cause was created by Sonet after hearing the idea at COSGA, a conference that student senators go to in Texas.

“I thought this was something that could really work well at all of the state universities in Conn.,” says Sonet. “I pushed it back down to just CCSU and it was all planned out in a month and a half.”

The end result was that Central raised around 1,500 food donations, around 3,500 total. Sonet says that he was more than surprised not only at the quality of the food donated, but the grand total. According to Sonet, their anticipated goal was only 1,000.

“It was really nice to see that people didn’t do the $1 can from Stop and Shop, they really got nice things and got it out before Thanksgiving,” Sonet says. “We saved the food pantry from running out. I am really happy that we put the SGA logo on it.”

Sonet’s main slogan is: “Every story matters. Every student matters. I want to hear your story. I want to be your voice.”

Sonet says that he wants to work on enhancing weekend life with the enforcement of the University hour.

“This is an opportune time for campus activities,” Sonet says. “The SGA could work with a different club or student organization every week to help promote our amazing clubs and continue the flow of new activities.”

Sen. Alex Kitchener says that Sonet is an ideal candidate for a president with the “heart of a social servant.”

“His passion for helping students is unparalleled. He has many ideas for projects, and solicits opinions from other members of Senate, and especially myself,” says Kitchener. “Simms listens to feedback and compromises when it is necessary. He’s open, an active listener and willing to go above and beyond for his peers and community.”

Treasurer Nick Alaimo has also endorsed Sonet for SGA President.

“People who know Simms respects him immensely,” Alaimo says. “Simms is the type of person who will always do what is in the best interest of the students. Simms asks the tough questions and does his research before reaching a decision. He truly believes that collaboration, constructive discussions leads to the best decision making.”