SGA Class Council members announced

The results of the Class Council elections were released by email on Monday. This election, which chose next year’s presidents and senators for the Classes of 2015, 2016 and 2017, followed the Student Government Association (SGA) Executive Committee election, in which SGA President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary were chosen. The SGA Committee on Student Elections compiled the results.

The President of the Class of 2015 is Destiny Bailey, the President of the Class of 2016 is Jahan Mirchandani, and the President of the Class of 2017 is Syed Hossain.

Three elections are held each year: the Freshman Class Council in the fall followed by the Executive Committee and Class Council elections in the spring. Before running, all candidates must attend an information session to discuss topics such as petitioning, campaigning and the election itself.

Senior Laura Perkinson, Chair of the Committee for Student Elections (CSE), manages and oversees all student government elections. She explained the election process in an email to The News-Letter.

“The rest of CSE and I review each of the candidates’ petitions to verify their signatures, and I also approve all of their campaign posters and answer any questions candidates may have during the election,” Perkinson wrote.

Each candidate must collect 100 student signatures in order to get their name on the ballot. Candidates have the option of running individually or as part of a ticket. Many candidates choose to campaign through posters and social media.

Destiny Bailey, President-elect and current President for the Class of 2015, enjoyed the campaign.

“The process was exciting and adrenaline-inducing, as races usually are,” Bailey wrote.

Freshman Ale Saichin, one of six Senators-elect for the Class of 2017, reflected positively on her first campaign experience.

“The campaign process and election was really about getting my name out there,” Saichin wrote in an email. “I went around the FFC and introduced myself, which was very intimidating at first as I thought no one wanted me to interrupt their dinner! I garnered positive responses through this.”

Saichin was inspired to run for Class Council after making several suggestions regarding school or student-life improvements to existing officers, often without receiving a response. She ran as part of a ticket with two other senators and a presidential candidate, all of whom were elected.

Class of 2016 President-elect and current class President, Jahan Mirchandani, found the campaign process to be rigorous.

“I essentially had to forget that I was a full-time student enrolled at a University and instead act like a politician, spending all day campaigning,” Mirchandani wrote in an email to The News-Letter.

Bailey agreed with Mirchandani.

“I will admit, it was a long process and I was both mentally and physically exhausted by the end of it!” she wrote. “After seeing the hard work that every candidate puts in, you gain so much respect for each and every one.”

Neither Mirchandani nor Bailey are new to student government. Mirchandani has served in the SGA since being elected senator the fall of freshman year. He described his experience as enjoyable and rewarding, particularly due to improving dining services and organizing events like the Aquarium Formal.

Bailey is also an experienced SGA member.

“This organization has changed my life, both in high school and in college,” Bailey shared in an email. “For me, SGA is one of those experiences that I can’t use words for.”

In her three years on SGA, Bailey has learned a great deal about being a leader, working on a team and using constructive criticism as a means for personal growth, she explained. She said she is motivated by the difference she has been able to make at Hopkins with the help of peers and fellow senators.

Elected officers, presidents and senators alike have expressed many goals for next year.

Saichin hopes to continue promoting sustainability on campus.

“Some goals I have include getting more compost bins on campus and reducing the amount of waste we produce as a student body. I’d love to try and install more dual flush toilets where possible,” Saichin wrote.

Mirchandani’s main goal is to centralize off-campus housing information, including compiling reviews for rising upperclassmen or potential subletters. Some of his other goals are ensuring student input in the Commencement speaker selection process, extending hours at Levering Café and Nolan’s and maintaining SGA transparency through monthly updates.

Bailey’s major goals include increasing transparency and student involvement regarding the Commencement speaker selection process.

“This year’s Senior Class Council truly left us with big shoes to fill, but I’m positive the entire class will work together to make sure our year is as fun and memorable as we deserve,” she wrote.

Bailey’s and Mirchandani’s candidacy, among others, was endorsed by the Advocacy and Awareness Alliance, a coalition of groups committed to diverse political and social activism on the Hopkins campus.

Their endorsement statement, which was posted on Facebook, summarized the Advocacy and Awareness Alliance’s position.

“We believe that all students groups deserve equal opportunity of funding, especially in the form of annual budgets, and that the SGA budget and grant appropriations process should be made more transparent. We take these positions because we aim to increase the political activism and civil discourse on campus,” the group wrote.

Junior Carrie Resnick, co-president of Hopkins College Democrats and head of their Finance Committee, explained the decision to endorse 10 candidates in an email.

“We chose these candidates because of their support for the amendment regarding Advocacy and Awareness club funding that is being considered by the SGA today, and for their support for Advocacy and Awareness club funding on the whole,” Resnick wrote.

Bailey is thrilled to spend more time on SGA.

“I know that all those elected are passionate and diligent people,” Bailey wrote. “You can only imagine how humbled it has made me to be at this amazing institution and to be constantly trying to make it better with passionate students and others around me. It is an honor.”

Students also voted on a referendum for the University to divest the portions of its endowment that are in fossil fuel industry stocks. 73 percent of voters supported the referendum.

“Considering that divestment will fuel political and societal action around climate change without diminishing our endowment, it is not surprising that so many Hopkins students support it,” Students for Environmental Action member Maggie Weese wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “Seeing these numbers makes us hopeful for a socially, economically, and environmentally successful future.”