Sumit Jadhav and Caio Esmeraldi have been certified as the official winners of the Student Government presidential election after appealing a SG Supreme Court ruling.
Jadhav and Esmeraldi will serve as the student body president and vice president, respectively, for all three USF campuses from fall 2025 through spring 2026.
The ticket was previously found guilty of a level-three major violation – something that would result in “immediate disqualification,” according to SG statutes – for a statement made during a Feb. 18 senate meeting.
This was because, as the SG Supreme Court ruled on March 14, Jadhav made a “false” and “damaging” statement against Brayden Jahn, an opposing vice presidential candidate.
However, Jadhav said Dean of Students Danielle McDonald overturned the decision on April 14 after the ticket appealed the ruling.
Chris Bullins, SG’s director of advising, did not provide The Oracle with the appeal results at the time of publication.
Related: USF SG ethics investigation into student body pres, VP faces setback
A date for the ticket’s swearing in is being “figured out,” but is expected to happen “soon,” Jadhav said.
Despite the win, Jadhav still faces an ethics investigation for the contract he signed with the sitting student body president, Suryakanth Prasad Gottipati, in which they agreed to swap roles mid-term.
Jadhav previously told The Oracle the contract was only a “joke.”
Jadhav said he is unsure how the investigation will continue and is “waiting on legislature proceedings.”
But with their win, Jadhav and Esmeraldi said they plan to launch into their term with a few main goals.
Jadhav, a graduate student in financial analytics, said he has the “unique opportunity” to represent the graduate population of USF’s student body as president for the 2025-26 term.
“We’ll be working with [graduate] departments as well to integrate them more into our student body and also make them feel that they are included in all the decision-making,” Jadhav said.
Esmeraldi, a junior psychology major, said he wants to expand the “support system for mental health” through existing USF services, such as Feed-a-Bull and counseling.
“It’s about seeing where we already have a good foundation, and finding how we can improve it, how it can spread the message,” Esmeraldi said.
Jadhav said the two want to advocate and support all USF student organizations “in terms of their budgeting needs.”
“Everyone knows right now the kind of situation we’re going through with [Student Activities and Service] funds,” Jadhav said. “We want to put in a concrete plan for the next few years, which can address the situation and help mitigate all the issues that we have.”
A&S fees are included in student tuition and are charged each semester, forming a “pot” of money to be allocated for student organization and department budgets.
But with inflation and increasing minimum wage, budgets have gotten tighter.
Related: USF student orgs, departments might see budget cuts
Jadhav said their goals are “ambitious” and they want to set a “foundation” for positive change at USF.
“We only have one year, so we have to try to be as realistic as possible,” Jadhav said. “It’s just kind of building on what’s already been at work over the past couple of years that we can improve on.”
Esmeraldi said although he is new to SG, he was inspired to run for vice president alongside Jadhav because of his brother, Cesar Esmeraldi.
Cesar served as the student body president alongside Elizabeth Volmy in the 2023-2024 term.
Caio said he is “thrilled” to step into the role of vice president in the fall and bring a “fresh” perspective.
“I’ve seen my brother go through his presidency and how it changed his life, and the opportunities just feel so endless to me,” he said.
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Caio said the election was “chaotic” due to the appeal process the ticket faced before being certified as the winner.
But Jadhav said the two are ready for their term.
“There are so many things that we can do,” Jadhav said. “We want to stay focused, make sure we advocate for and represent the student body correctly and make sure everyone feels supported.”
