New USG officers, U-Councilors elected, all referenda passed

In an email sent to the student body around 4 p.m. on Friday, April 19, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) announced the spring election results for U-Councilors and officers for the classes of 2020, 2021, and 2022. Additionally, all four referenda exceeded the minimum one-third turnout and were passed.

A total of 2,246 students voted in the 2019–2020 USG elections.

For the class of 2020, the officers are Juston Forte ’20 as president, Alaa Ghoneim ’20 as treasurer, and Ben Musoke-Lubega ’20 as secretary. The offices for vice president and social chair remain vacant.

In an email to The Daily Princetonian, Forte explained that he not only hopes to make the class of 2020’s senior year enjoyable, but also aspires to implement long-lasting change within USG.

“During my time, I hope to increase class unity by holding frequent social events, while actively leading Commencement planning so that our last year will be memorable,” Forte wrote. “Additionally, I intend to push for organizational changes within Class Government so that officers will be better prepared for the responsibilities expected of their elected positions.”

Representing the class of 2021 are Emma Parish ’21 as president, Sanjana Duggirala ’21 as vice president, Kavya Chaturvedi ’21 as treasurer, Arielle Mindel ’21 as secretary, and Phoebe Park ’21 as social chair.

Entering her second year as class of 2021 president, Parish noted that USG has “become a home for [her] on campus” and that she hopes to continue “building community through class events and gear.”

“I hope to work with the other officers to design and order more completely subsidized gear items, ranging from sweatshirts to portable chargers to stickers,” Parish wrote in an email to the ‘Prince.’ “For alumni relations, I am looking to launch both an alumni lecture series and a one-on-one alumni mentorship program. In a similar vein to our pumpkin carving event with local refugee families, my goal is to create community service days for 2021 classmates to give back to Princeton and beyond.”

All five elected officers for the class of 2021 were also elected last year, when the class of 2021 became the first class in 14 years to elect all-female officers.

The elected class of 2022 officers are Santi Guiran ’22 as president, Gabe Lebeau ’22 as vice president, Mansi Totwani ’22 as treasurer, Mariah Crawford ’22 as secretary, and Anika Khakoo ’22 as social chair.

Guiran explained that he “was absolutely floored” to find out that he had been elected and that he is excited for all of the opportunities to come.

“Knowing that the people who inspire me every day resonated with my passion and conviction was an invaluable feeling,” Guiran wrote in an email to the ‘Prince.’ “In the coming year, I am hoping to really enhance our mentorship program with our grandparent class. I am also looking forward to serving in the Honor Committee and making information regarding upperclassmen dining options accessible, among other things.”

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All class office candidates ran unopposed with the exception of the 2021 and 2022 presidential candidates, as well as the secretarial candidates for the class of 2022.

Of the 12 U-Councilor candidates who ran for office, 10 were elected: Matthew Bomparola ’21, Gabriel Duguay ’22, Isabella Faccone ’21, Rachel Hazan ’21, Sarah Lee ’22, Allen Liu ’22, JJ Lopez Haddad ’22, Ben Press ’20, Adhitya Raghavan ’20, and Claire Wayner ’22.

Bomparola, who has served as U-Councilor for the 2018–2019 school year, said that he was “super stoked to be re-elected” for the upcoming school year and to work with both new and old USG members.

“I hope to build upon much of the work that I participated in last year regarding making campus more accessible to students of faith,” Bomparola said. “I really hope to make as much headway as possible on questions regarding fairer pricing and alternate options to Pequod packet printing services.”

This year’s four referenda — which concern reducing carbon emissions, eye safety and computer screens, Honor Code standard penalties, and Honor Committee appointments — passed with at least 83.8 percent of votes in favor of each respective referendum.

To be officially approved by the student body, the referenda needed to pass two criteria: 33 percent turnout and 75 percent approval. With at least 1,926 total votes on each referendum, the referenda narrowly exceeded the minimum turnout requirement with at least 36.6 percent, and at most 42.2 percent, of the total student body.

Wayner, a newly-elected U-Councilor as well as the sponsor for the carbon emissions referendum, explained that the vote on the referendum “sends a clear message to the administration that the student body cares greatly about climate change and wants Princeton to take more decisive action towards reducing our emissions.”

“Our campaign team and the Princeton Student Climate Initiative are looking forward to working closely with the Office of Sustainability and other administrators to both ensure that the referendum is implemented and to collaborate on even more aggressive efforts to further reduce our carbon footprint,” Wayner wrote in an email to the ‘Prince.’ “We sincerely hope that the administration shares our belief in viewing this referendum as a call to action — Princeton has a responsibility to its students to decarbonize as quickly as possible for a sustainable future.”

AJ Sibley ’19 expressed his excitement as the eye safety referendum sponsor to see the future educational measures implemented by the University.

“This referendum is a call for action on the part of the University administration: to educate students on how to protect their eyes, and ensure their capacity for continued excellence,” Sibley wrote in an email to the ‘Prince.’ “I know that this university cares deeply for the well-being of its students, and I am confident that with this united stand by the student body, [the] University will take the vital steps necessary to protect current and all future generations of Princetonians.”

Third-year Honor Committee member and Honor Committee referendum sponsor Chris Umanzor ’19 wrote in an email to the ‘Prince’ that he hoped the referendum would encourage the continuation of “smart, strategic reform in the name of decency and fairness.”

“The internal processes of the Honor Committee matter perhaps now more than ever, especially given that the next crop of members and leaders will play a vital role in establishing precedent, a tremendously important factor to consider when evaluating penalty for a student found ‘responsible’ by the Committee,” Umanzor wrote. “As long as this Committee is here, we need to ensure that it remains accountable and we need to continue to question whether its institution in its current form is truly a prudent one.”

Elizabeth Haile ’19, sponsor for the Honor Code standard penalties referendum, did not respond to request for comment by the time of publication.

The newly elected officers will take over their new roles at the beginning of the fall semester in September 2019, and the referenda will be implemented immediately.