Sreeja Pandiri '26 won the Student Government Association special senior senator election on Jan. 16, 2026. The election was called to replace Brielle McLean '25, who graduated in December.
Pandiri, who previously served as a senator as a freshman, sophomore and junior, said before the election that she decided to run for office again because she believed she had unfinished work. In fall 2025, Pandiri had to vacate her seat to study abroad, but now that she is back, she said she is ready to finish what she started.
The policies she ran on, she said, reflect those she had as a freshman senator. Pandiri advocated for increased Halal food options in dining halls and menstrual product dispensers in women’s bathrooms across campus.
“Being in that environment and being around such a close knit community and making new friends really made me feel welcome,” Pandiri said. “It made me feel inspired to actually do things.”
Pandiri added that she wants to make sure that the campus menstrual product dispensers are always stocked.
“Once the dispensers were installed, it was only me and maybe a few other students who were filling the dispensers,” Pandiri said. “It was really hard to coordinate because we’re all super busy as students.”
The grant they received from the Visionary Student Panel covered the dispensers and the first shipment of the period products but after the initial investment, Pandiri and her counterparts had to find additional funding for the initiative.
Pandiri ran against Sara Brito ‘26, who ran for SGA for the first time. Brito's proposed policies included strengthening the overall Mercer community by having events that many students of different backgrounds can enjoy while uplifting students who currently need it. SGA is important to her, Brito said, because she wants to see more Latin American representation in leadership positions, which the organization gave a space for.
SGA will officially swear in Pandiri at their next meeting on Jan. 26 at 6:30 p.m.
