Student Community Government President Malcolm Mann looks back on political interest, forward on plans for RIC

Tim Yean

Managing Editor

Malcolm Mann on Anchor TV Interviews (watch here!)

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Malcolm Mann became the first Student Community Government, Inc. president elected via the public back in the spring 2026 semester. Now in the 2026-27 school year, it’s time to deliver on the promises made in his election campaign.

For the new student leader on campus, the interest in student government and politics for Mann began in an AP Government class in Coventry High School. Initially just going for AP credits to make college life a little bit easier, Mann’s teacher, Kelly Erinakes, drove that class to become something more than that.

“She really showed me the possibilities politics has,” Mann told Anchor TV Interviews.

Following a successful AP exam, the then-Coventry Oaker interned for Erinakes, assisting in a voter drive to register new voters and get them politically active. That experience, Mann says, helped carry that interest into a new college life at Rhode Island College.

Sharing a class with previous SCG president, Dante DiGregorio, Mann was convinced to join SCG by DiGregorio after his political science major was mentioned in a conversation. So he signed up, got the required number of signatures, and he was in government.

“It was just an awesome experience,” Mann said. “Dante’s been like a mentor to me. Having him as this mentor inspired me to move the ranks, and now I’m here.”

Now in DiGregorio’s position, Mann says his top priorities in his administration are focused on having commuter students be more involved with campus, with an SCG “Town Hall” being held on Sept. 30 at the Donovan Dining Center to showcase SCG’s powers and allow students to ask questions to their government representatives.

Another key way the new SCG president aims to help commuters is by providing raffles that reward eventgoers of the town hall with a designated parking spot in the parking lot adjacent to the Student Union building. Mann says that those designated spots will help drivers avoid the relentless task of finding parking on campus and entice commuters to stay on campus longer.

“That’s just one way we’re trying to get commuter students [on campus longer],” Mann said.

Alongside a commuter focus, accessibility and mental health are also primary focuses and go hand-in-hand with each other as Mann aims to make student life easier to handle.

A new idea by Mann regarding accessibility is to allow golf carts to be driven by student workers to help students traverse the RIC campus swiftly, from the Recreation Center to the Murray Center.

“I’m going to talk with the [Center for Disability Access] to try and make it so we can use these golf carts to get people from, let's say, Gaige Hall to Alger Hall,” Mann said.

One more reform he looks to make is improving upon the SCG election process, which in spring 2026 was the first-ever executive board election open to the campus community in a move to drive up student involvement and make SCG’s presence known.

The process, Mann says, had “undue stress,” with campaigning time and the time for students to vote, which he told The Anchor will be shortened in future elections. Spending on campaigning will also look to be capped in an effort to keep the political playing field balanced.

“We don’t want someone spending $1000 while the other one’s spending $10,” Mann said. “We’ve seen how that plays out in real-world politics. And you know, you could get that feeling last year that this is kind of too similar to real-life politics, you know?”

Mann’s big plans for the campus are backed by experiences with not just the previous SCG executive council, but beyond the campus and beyond the borders of the Ocean State. Over the summer, Mann interned for U.S. House Representative Seth Magaziner. Mann’s time in Washington, D.C., gave him an inside look at what working in the Capitol would be like.

“It’s my dream to work in Washington,” Mann said. “I want to work in the White House in whatever form that may be, you know.”

Working alongside Magaziner’s staff and seeing the day-to-day operations made Mann realize that at the end of the day, they are just like regular, working people.

“They make jokes and they’re just really nice people,” Mann said. “It’s not like they’re out to get anyone. They’re just doing their job.”

Now, after a year learning from his peers, and some time in Washington looking over his representative, it’s time to put pen to paper and see what’s in store for President Malcolm Mann.