Youngstown State University Student Government Association To Unite. To Represent. To Serve.
Youngstown State University Student Government Association 
Justin Tucker and Abdullah Riaz serve as the President and Executive Vice President for the 2026–2027 academic year. Throughout this academic term, they will focus on strengthening the shared governance framework, implementing SGA’s judicial branch, and improving the organizational efficiency, efficacy, and the influence of SGA as a whole. They seek to improve campus engagement and the YSU student experience through coordinated event planning, departmental collaboration, and fostering stronger connections with the community. They want to create a more vibrant campus culture and help establish a stronger college-town atmosphere both on and off campus. They also want to support underrepresented student groups and international students by identifying the challenges these students face and providing the advocacy and collaboration necessary to address these barriers. Another focus will be supporting struggling majors and student organizations, including those affected by the passage of Ohio Senate Bill 1, through effective collaboration, event and program promotion, and helping these organizations utilize SGA funding to promote engagement and retention. They are also passionate about student mental and physical health and well-being and want to establish programs and initiatives that help students live happier and healthier lives during their time at YSU. Additional priorities include increasing awareness of existing campus resources, advocating for student affordability and academic transparency, improving student-SGA and student-university communication, and increasing access to and awareness of career and professional development resources. They will continue to support and work to ease the transitional period during continued Kilcawley renovations.
Sofie Myers and Carter Cook served as the President and Executive Vice President for the 2025-2026 academic year. Throughout their term they focused on the implementation of shared governance, introducing a greater degree of unity between the legislative body and senate. Their administration, through the implementation of shared governance, established the student judiciary branch, fully completing the checks and balances needed to support future organization growth. They also supported academic transparency through advocation in the academic senate, promoting community connections, strengthening the voice of the student body, and easing the transition of the Kilcawley Center renovations.
Jordan Pintar and Sofie Myers served as the President and Executive Vice President for the 2024-2025 academic year. Throughout their term they focused on amending the financial path and ensuring students understand the financial appropriations process. They also worked hard to keep campus clean and green, with campus cleanups becoming a regular volunteer opportunity for students to participate in. The administration worked toward fixing technical issues that made the SGA process easier, adding the public records tab on the website allows transparency for everyone to see what happens at body meetings. They worked with student organizations to host events around campus, participated in multiple committee meetings to redo the dining contract on campus, and give student feedback for the upcoming Kilcawley Center Renovations.
Alexander Papa and Jordan Pintar served as President and Executive Vice President of the Student Government Association during the 2023-2024 term. However, on February 15, 2024, President Papa was compelled to resign due to his recovery from injuries sustained in an accident caused by a drunk driver. Despite their brief tenure, they made substantial progress in three primary areas:
On November 21, 2024, the Student Government Association passed SR S 2023-01, titled “Resolution on the Board of Trustees’ Decision-Making Process to Offer the Presidency of Youngstown State University.” [Insert points 4-5 of the resolution here.]
Under their leadership, the Student Academic Senators became a fully engaged voting bloc. They notably voted down a faculty senate-initiated resolution of no confidence in President Johnson, even before he officially assumed his role.
Niko Mastorides and Maguire Franko held the positions of President and EVP respectively in the Student Government Association for the 2022-2023 term. Throughout their tenure, they spearheaded numerous initiatives focused on improving Community Relations, Student-Faculty Relations, Campus-Life, and Administrative Transparency.
In terms of Community Relations, they dedicated themselves to bridging the gap between students and local Youngstown businesses by leveraging the YO! App. They also worked towards enhancing Student-Faculty Relations by successfully championing a Resolution via the Academic Senate that resulted in the creation of an Ad Hoc Committee. This committee produced the Reciprocal Responsibilities of Students and Instructors document, which strengthened the relationship between students and instructors.
Furthermore, Niko and Maguire expanded the Aunt Flow program to multiple locations on campus, including Maag Library, Williamson, Cushwa, and Beeghly College. They also collaborated with donors to develop and implement Solar Powered Charging Tables around the fountain and laid the groundwork for Penguin Shuttle tracking via the Y App.
Last but not least, they prioritized transparency by ensuring that administrators were present at every SGA Body Meeting and initiated a social media campaign aimed at fostering better communication between YSU students and administrators.
Nicholas Koupiaris and Gianna Battaglia, the president and vice president of SGA, ran for office in the spring of 2021 unopposed. The initiatives that they choose to run on emphasized career readiness and improving counseling services for students on campus. In addition to this, They also wanted to implement as many student events and activities as possible, in order to foster a campus community after COVID-19.
Justin Shaughnessy and Avery Howard, the president and vice president of SGA, ran for office in the spring of 2020. Shaughnessy and Howard’s vision for SGA included improving funding for student organizations, advocating for the Penguin Pantry, increasing mental health awareness and increasing diversity and inclusion on campus.
Alexander Papa and Jordan Pintar served as President and Executive Vice President of the Student Government Association during the 2023-2024 term. However, on February 15, 2024, President Papa was compelled to resign due to his recovery from injuries sustained in an accident caused by a drunk driver. Despite their brief tenure, they made substantial progress in three primary areas:
On November 21, 2024, the Student Government Association passed SR S 2023-01, titled “Resolution on the Board of Trustees’ Decision-Making Process to Offer the Presidency of Youngstown State University.” [Insert points 4-5 of the resolution here.]
Under their leadership, the Student Academic Senators became a fully engaged voting bloc. They notably voted down a faculty senate-initiated resolution of no confidence in President Johnson, even before he officially assumed his role.
Niko Mastorides and Maguire Franko held the positions of President and EVP respectively in the Student Government Association for the 2022-2023 term. Throughout their tenure, they spearheaded numerous initiatives focused on improving Community Relations, Student-Faculty Relations, Campus-Life, and Administrative Transparency.
In terms of Community Relations, they dedicated themselves to bridging the gap between students and local Youngstown businesses by leveraging the YO! App. They also worked towards enhancing Student-Faculty Relations by successfully championing a Resolution via the Academic Senate that resulted in the creation of an Ad Hoc Committee. This committee produced the Reciprocal Responsibilities of Students and Instructors document, which strengthened the relationship between students and instructors.
Furthermore, Niko and Maguire expanded the Aunt Flow program to multiple locations on campus, including Maag Library, Williamson, Cushwa, and Beeghly College. They also collaborated with donors to develop and implement Solar Powered Charging Tables around the fountain and laid the groundwork for Penguin Shuttle tracking via the Y App.
Last but not least, they prioritized transparency by ensuring that administrators were present at every SGA Body Meeting and initiated a social media campaign aimed at fostering better communication between YSU students and administrators.
Nicholas Koupiaris and Gianna Battaglia, the president and vice president of SGA, ran for office in the spring of 2021 unopposed. The initiatives that they choose to run on emphasized career readiness and improving counseling services for students on campus. In addition to this, They also wanted to implement as many student events and activities as possible, in order to foster a campus community after COVID-19.
Justin Shaughnessy and Avery Howard, the president and vice president of SGA, ran for office in the spring of 2020. Shaughnessy and Howard’s vision for SGA included improving funding for student organizations, advocating for the Penguin Pantry, increasing mental health awareness and increasing diversity and inclusion on campus.