The Committee on Student Elections (CSE) have announced the list of candidates and their respective positions in a university-wide email for the 2026-2027 Student Government Association (SGA) election. Student Body President candidates include Seán Durkis-Dervogne, Jason Yu and Omotara Tiamiyu, while the Student Body Vice Presidential candidates are Sumire Sumi and Jazzlyn Fernandez. Honora Muratori, Amy Xu and Grace Guan are running unopposed for Student Body Secretary, Student Body Treasurer and Chair of Programming, respectively.
Student Body President
The Student Body President acts as the head of the Executive Branch, which supports daily SGA functions, facilitates administration-SGA contact and executes bills passed by the Legislative Branch. Particularly, the President serves as the primary representative for students in the face of University administration.
Seán Durkis-Dervogne
Durkis-Dervogne is a freshman majoring in Computer Science and Political Science and a current Whiting School of Engineering (WSE) Senator. During his term in SGA, Durkis-Dervogne developed the Course Transparency Platform, designed to show the number of students who have earned above a B in each course. The platform intends to have course grade distribution information submitted through a self-designed website, which will then be added to a published site with another self-designed model (attached site uses synthetic data for now). He has also aimed to increase SGA’s accessibility for students — notable initiatives include his hosting of weekly office hours, maintaining a newsletter with updates on his actions in SGA and his creation of a website with resources for students interested in SGA and his election promises.
As Student Body President, Durkis-Dervogne centers his platform around taking action without waiting for administrative approval, bolstering SGA independence. In an email to The News-Letter, Durkis-Dervogne discussed his plans to allow for syllabi to be published earlier, coordinate with professors for midterm date spacing for courses often taken together, create more study spaces for students, increase the transparency of construction dates and improvements to fresh food served by Hopkins Dining.
“I know the SGA's track record with campaign promises isn't great. That's why a big focus of all my initiatives is feasibility. On each element of my platform, I've written about how I plan on achieving it. And because of my student-driven approach to initiatives, they won't require nearly as much of the red tape that traditionally slows the SGA down,” Durkis-Dervogne wrote. “I’m also confident that, moving forward, this change will create a new dynamic, not only for my legislation, but the legislation of others, and will lead the way for systemic change throughout the SGA in order to be more efficient and more effective in responding to student needs.”
Omotara Tiamiyu
Tiamiyu is a junior majoring in Public Health Studies and the current Student Body Vice President of SGA, where she has worked towards J-Cash accessibility in off-campus locations, the expansion of shuttle routes and increasing student representation within decision-making at the SNF Agora Institute. Tiamiyu first served as the Freshman and Sophomore Class Senator during her first two years.
During her three years in SGA, Tiamiyu facilitated the Menstrual Product Initiative, which replaced all outdated product dispensers and distributed them to 10 new locations, expanded the availability of Meals in a Minute at CharMar, provided transportation to the polls for students during the 2024 national election and worked to increase accessible parking for students on campus. As the Chair of the Student Services Committee, Tiamiyu also worked to create a grievance hall for students to direct administration-related concerns.
As Student Body President, Tiamiyu promises to improve transportation routes and dining options for students, expand funding and institutional support for RSOs, advocate for student mental health, and improve exam scheduling coordination. Tiamiyu is running alongside vice presidential candidate Sumire Sumi on a platform called The Blueprint. A more detailed outline of their plans can be found here.
Tiamiyu highlights her experience throughout her platform, sharing that her experience built the skill to create and implement meaningful change in an email to The News-Letter.
“It is rare to have a candidate with this level of sustained experience within SGA across both the legislative and executive branches, who has also spearheaded a committee, who has direct relationships with administration, and has a deep understanding of the internal mechanisms through which SGA functions.” Tiamiyu adds, “Continuity is imperative for creating meaningful and lasting progress. For the first time (in a very long time) we can have a team in the executive that can hit the ground running immediately, without losing valuable time learning the role and establishing premature and shallow relationships with admin.”
Jason Yu
Yu is a sophomore majoring in Economics and the current Sophomore Class President and Chair of the Student Services Committee. Last year, Yu acted as the Freshman Class President, where he worked with Hopkins Dining by advocating for lower dining prices in the Bloomberg Student Center (BSC), larger food portions, expanding healthier food options — such as the Meals-in-a-Minute section at Charles Market – and increasing transparency in dining prices. He has also stressed his commitment to improving wellness among the student body, working alongside Preventative Education and Empowerment for Peers, Student Health & Well-Being and A Place To Talk to support student mental health by providing free sleep classes and distributing wellness kits with snacks and soothing products.
Moreover, Yu has collaborated with the Hopkins Food Pantry to establish free menstrual products, while also introducing an SGA bill that funds nearly 4,000 feminine hygiene items. Yu is also working with the University’s IT department to send out a student survey, intending to improve campus WiFi, and replacing old hardware to increase WiFi capacity. This past week, Yu has been passing around free items, such as umbrellas, wellness kits and snacks, to engage face-to-face with students before the election.
Yu’s platform is based on the idea of establishing a stronger community at Hopkins. In an email to The News-Letter, Yu emphasized this desire to create a positive atmosphere, stressing his commitment to strengthening school spirit.
“I want to bring people together, strengthen our sense of community, and ultimately work together to learn and grow. When it comes to prioritizing students first and fostering a meaningful experience, I believe you have to genuinely care, be committed, and passionate about the work you are doing. I have been to every single SGA meeting and have 100% attendance, and it’s incredibly important to simply show up, whether that’s at events or games, to be there and be invested,” Yu wrote.
Yu is running on a ticket with Fernandez, Guan, Muratori and Xu.
Student Body Vice President
Sumire Sumi
Sumi is a sophomore majoring in Public Health Studies and is the current Student Body Secretary. As a Freshman Class Senator last year, Sumi worked with Dining Services to allow unused swipes to carry over. This year, as Secretary, Sumi worked on SGA’s social media presence to allow students to share feedback. Sumi also collaborated with the Public Safety Office to use the SGA social media platform to communicate important safety resources to students and connect the office with student organizations to organize self-defense workshops to build student-department relations. Running as a ticket with Tiamiyu as part of the Blueprint Plan, Sumi shared her qualifications and desires for vice presidency in an email to The News-Letter.
“I understand that the Vice President role is an honor that requires a deep understanding of SGA both internally and externally. I have the experience necessary to uphold SGA to the highest standard while strengthening connections between students and administrators to drive meaningful change. I am committed to a new era of advocacy and to shaping a student experience that is more connected, responsive, and impactful,” Sumi wrote.
Jazzlyn Fernandez
Fernandez is a junior majoring in Public Health Studies and is a current Junior Class Senator. Serving in SGA for three years, as Freshman Secretary, Fernandez headed a freshman class trip to The Nevermore Haunt. Additionally, Fernandez also served as Sophomore Class Senator, where she advocated for new weight equipment at the Recreational Center and an expansion of Advanced Placement credit transfers from high school to Hopkins.
In her junior year as Class Senator, Fernandez assisted in conducting a survey to gauge students' reactions to the new Foundational Ability (FA) requirements, which received over 350 responses. Moreover, Fernandez introduced the Action Items Bill, which mandates that all senators provide follow-up actions and deadlines for their bills and policies, after noticing that plans became stuck in a long approval process. As the current Chair of the Committee on Student Organizations, Fernandez is also working with student organizations on how SGA can support members concerned and/or affected by heightened Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity.
As Student Body Vice President, Fernandez maintains a goal to have every student feel like they are a part of the SGA delegation processes to create transparency within the student government. In an email to The News-Letter, Fernandez shares how she intends to do so by sending monthly emails to the student body, biweekly updates on bills, policies to the SGA’s social media platforms and executive updates in engaging ways (such as polls and discussions).
“The action items amendment is proof that I know how to uplift other members by supporting their initiatives, which is what I vow to do as Vice President, starting by bringing back a public-facing initiatives tracker, so students can know exactly what we are working on, and can therefore both support us and hold us accountable. As the Vice President, I will always hold my closest values as honesty and transparency, so my goal is that every student will be so updated they feel like they are in the General Body room with us every Tuesday,” Fernandez shared.
Fernandez is running on a ticket with Guan, Muratori, Xu and Yu.
Student Body Secretary
Honora Muratori is a freshman majoring in Political Science and History and is a current Women and Gender Minority Caucus Representative and member of the Finance and Health, Safety and Sustainability Committees. In her current position, Muratori worked with the Recreation Center to improve the accessibility of “Empower Hour,” organized a tabling event to educate students on the importance of feminine hygiene product access, collaborated to create a LGBTQ+ experience survey and worked on an SGA endorsement of a Critical Diaspora Studies “Indigenous Faculty” track development.
As Secretary, Muratori hopes to improve input collection and improve communication with all members of the University community, particularly through community outreach to improve University and student relations with Baltimore city.
Student Body Treasurer
Amy Xu is a junior majoring in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, a WSE Senator and a member of the Finance Committee Chair. As a WSE Senator, Xu represented students on the WSE CUE2 Implementation Advisory Board and the WSE Engineering Design Minor Advisory Board, which seek to develop the University’s engineering education’s focus. Furthermore, as Finance Committee Chair, Xu has assisted in standardizing the budget review and bookkeeping system by implementing a structured Excel workflow from Word Documents, while also training new members on governing guidelines and surveying student organization financial officers to determine hindrances in programming.
Through her survey results (48 responses) sent to The News-Letter, Xu has crafted her campaign on the demands for clearer communication and support for student organizations, including deadline reminders weeks in advance and office hours to navigate the finances process. Xu also aims to improve resource navigation and advising. Below are figures provided by Xu from her study on student organization feedback.
Xu is running on a ticket with Fernandez, Guan, Muratori and Yu.
Chair of Programming
Grace Guan is a junior majoring in Applied Mathematics and Statistics and a two-year member of the Class Programming Council. As a part of this committee, Guan has contributed to various initiatives such as the Sophomore Formal and Battle of the Classes. Moreover, she has spearheaded the Juniors’ Jay Gatsby Gala, the HopFox Plushie Haunt and the Return to Nevermore Haunt events.
Guan’s platform is based on the idea of expanding the SGA’s subsidization of student organizations’ tabling events to alleviate stress related to funding. Her hopes are that this enterprise would alleviate stress and increase the sense of liveliness at Hopkins. In an email to The News-Letter, Guan shared various other initiatives she intends on advocating for, including a University ski trip to Liberty Mountain, a “Month of Love” in February — which will feature weekly reality-tv inspired challenges and culminate in the Marriage Pact — and increased off-campus programming for upperclassmen.
“We all know Hopkins students work hard; it is my goal to make them know there are opportunities to play hard, too,” Guan shared.
Guan is running on a ticket with Fernandez, Muratori, Xu and Yu.
Voting
Form-based voting will begin on Monday, March 30th at 12:00 PM and close Tuesday, March 31 at 5:00 PM. Students can vote in-person in BSC 404 from 2:00 to 5:00 PM on Tuesday.
Honora Muratori is a staff writer for The News-Letter and had no involvement in the reporting of this article.
